White House’s OMB skeptical of Navy plan to boost shipyard wages, SASC chairman says
Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Roger Wicker said the shipbuilding industry will not be able to meet the Navy’s demand for Virginia-class submarines unless it is willing to pay competitive wages to workers doing a “very difficult, physical job.”
By Valerie Insinna and Justin Katz
on March 06, 2025 at 12:10 PM
USS Massachusetts (SSN-798), the 25th Virginia-class fast attack submarine. under construction at Newport News Shipyard in Virginia in 2022. (photo courtesy Huntington Ingalls Industries)
WASHINGTON — The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has yet to be convinced of the viability of a Navy plan that would boost shipyard wages and accelerate submarine production, the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman said.
During a fireside chat at the Reagan Institute’s National Security Innovation Base Summit on Wednesday, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said he is engaged with the White House on the Shipyard Accountability and Workforce Support (SAWS) proposal, which he sees as a viable path to getting the shipbuilding industry the money it needs to raise salaries and make it more competitive for talent.
However, President Donald Trump’s OMB has not yet been sold on the idea, he said, adding that he believes OMB’s concerns are rooted in how the proposal stacks up in the office’s “scoring” process, which weighs a proposal’s cost against its benefits.
“To take on OMB, they really are the most powerful office in the government, and I learned that long ago,” Wicker said. “They’re very frustrating.”
https://breakingdefense.com/2025/03/white-houses-omb-skeptical-of-navy-plan-to-boost-shipyard-wages-sasc-chairman-says/
