Press Releases

Wittman Statement on Release of FY19 NDAA SPF Mark

WASHINGTON - Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, released the following statement after the subcommittee published its proposals for the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act:

"As Russia and China grow their naval presence it is absolutely critical that we continue to invest in and rebuild our Navy. The mark released today would put our Navy on the path to make our way to a 355-ship fleet. We recommend that the full committee authorize funding for not only the 10 ships included in the President’s budget, but three additional battle force ships, including one Ford-class aircraft carrier and two additional Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). It also includes an aggressive procurement schedule for Virginia-class submarines to grow our underwater fleet. The subcommittee also recommends full funding for the B-21 Raider program and the VC-25B Presidential Recapitalization Aircraft Program. To achieve distributed lethality we must provide the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force the tools and resources they need to deter our adversaries, support our allies, and respond to threats around the globe, I believe this mark does that.

"The Virginia priorities included in this mark are critical not only to our Commonwealth's economy and continued role as the national leader in supporting our Armed Forces, but in the national security of our country as well. I hope we are able to advance these important provisions to the full committee and look forward to continuing to promote them as the NDAA process moves forward."

The markup will take place at 1:30PM on Thursday, April 26, 2018 in Rayburn 2212 and will be live streamed and the full mark is available here.

Virginia-Specific Provisions:

• Specifically authorizes the procurement of CVN-81, the fourth Ford-class aircraft carrier;
• Retains the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) until a replacement capability can be developed; and
• Directs the Navy to enter into an aggressive schedule to recapitalize the surge sealift fleet.
• Recommends long lead time material funding in fiscal year 2019 for two additional Virginia-class submarines in fiscal years 2022 and 2023

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.

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