Congress pushing for more amphibs despite Navy projecting production shutdown
Lawmakers can’t force the Navy to buy more amphibious ships. But they can – and did – set them up for it.
By JUSTIN KATZ
on December 14, 2022 at 1:48 PM
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in this year’s defense policy bill had a specific, albeit mostly implied, message to send the Navy about its fleet of amphibious ships: Make sure you’re ready to buy more next year.
That wouldn’t be noteworthy in most years; the amphibious shipbuilding contingent in Congress is lively and vocal. But what makes this year different is the elephant in the Navy’s fiscal 2023 budget request: The service projected it would stop buying San Antonio-class transport dock ships starting next year, ending production eight ships short of previous plans.
Because of how the federal budgeting and spending process works, Congress can’t demand the Navy continue to buy amphibious ships, so it may not be surprising there is no explicit language in the bill addressing the projected production sundown. But what lawmakers can do is write policy that pushes the service in a specific direction, and on that front, there was no shortage of activity.
https://breakingdefense.com/2022/12/congress-pushing-for-more-amphibs-despite-navy-projecting-production-shutdown/
