WASHINGTON - Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, today supported House passage of H.R. 1301, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017.
The bill provides $577.9 billion in total defense spending, a $5.2 billion increase over last year, and contains $21.2 billion for ship procurement. Those funds will allow the Navy to procure 13 ships including three DDG-51 guided missile destroyers, three Littoral Combat Ships, and one LPD-17.
“This bill gets us moving in the right direction on base defense budget spending and on ship procurement,” Rep. Wittman said. “We face significant security challenges around the world and we need to make sure we, as a nation, make a commitment to providing our military the resources to meet those challenges. This bill does that. I’m pleased with the provisions in this bill related to ship and aircraft procurement and look forward to continuing to advance those critical efforts in the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee.”
The legislation also provides funding to increase the military's force structure, calling for an additional 1,000 active-duty Army soldiers, 1,000 Army National Guard soldiers, 1,000 Army Reserve soldiers, and 1,000 active-duty Marines.
In his capacity as Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee chairman, Rep. Wittman has advocated for not just an increase in base defense spending, which this bill provides, but also adequate funding specifically devoted to shipbuilding - $5 billion annually - so that the Navy can execute a buildup of the fleet from 274 ships to 355.
Congressman Rob Wittman represents the 1st District of Virginia. He serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Armed Services Committee, where he is the Chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee.
