Senators Question SECNAV, OMB on Submarine Funding Ahead of 17 Attack Boat Buy
Sam LaGrone
October 28, 2024 4:49 PM
USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-795) completing acceptance trials from shipbuilder Electric Boat on Oct. 3, 2023. US Navy Photo
A bipartisan group of senators wants more details from the Navy and the White House Office of Management and Budget on a funding scheme that shipbuilders want to employ to help pay for 17 new submarines under negotiations, according to two letters the group submitted on Friday.
The group, led by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), quizzed OMB and Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro on the Shipyard Accountability and Workforce Support funding plan, also known as SAWS, which the Navy developed to pull money from submarine contracts for boats that have yet to start construction to increase shipbuilders’ wages and build more infrastructure.
“It is our understanding that over months of conversation Pentagon leadership, the Navy, and industry reached an agreement to maximize use of taxpayer funding for construction of the next tranche of Columbia-class and Virginia-class submarines – including by raising wages to attract and retain America’s skilled and organized shipyard workforce, addressing rising costs, and advancing much-needed infrastructure investments, all to improve program reliability and schedule,” reads the letter to Del Toro.
https://news.usni.org/2024/10/28/senators-question-secnav-omb-on-submarine-funding-ahead-of-17-attack-boat-buy
