[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 998 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 998

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
 States Navy's total readiness remains in a perilous state due to high 
 operational demands, increased deployment lengths, shortened training 
 periods, and deferred maintenance all while the Navy is asked to ``do 
 more with less'' as financial support for critical areas waned in the 
   era of sequestration and without consistent Congressional funding.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2018

Mr. Wittman (for himself, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Gallagher, 
 Ms. Cheney, Mrs. Hartzler, Mr. Byrne, and Ms. McSally) submitted the 
  following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
 States Navy's total readiness remains in a perilous state due to high 
 operational demands, increased deployment lengths, shortened training 
 periods, and deferred maintenance all while the Navy is asked to ``do 
 more with less'' as financial support for critical areas waned in the 
   era of sequestration and without consistent Congressional funding.

Whereas Navy readiness could further deteriorate in areas such as training, ship 
        construction, ship repair, and deployability if Congress does not 
        provide stable funding for the Department of Defense;
Whereas the USS Fitzgerald, a United States Navy destroyer, collided with a 
        container ship while transiting through Sagami Bay near Japan on June 
        17, 2017, resulting in the deaths of seven sailors and hundreds of 
        millions of dollars in damage;
Whereas the United States Navy's investigation of the USS Fitzgerald collision 
        concluded that the event was ``avoidable'' and that numerous failures 
        included failure to plan for safety, failure to adhere to sound 
        navigation practice, failure to execute basic watch standing practices, 
        failure to properly use available navigation tools, and failure to 
        respond deliberately and effectively when in extremis;
Whereas the USS John S. McCain, a United States Navy destroyer, collided with an 
        oil tanker while transiting through the Straits of Singapore on August 
        21, 2017, resulting in the deaths of 10 sailors and hundreds of millions 
        of dollars in damage;
Whereas the United States Navy's investigation of the USS John S. McCain 
        collision concluded that the crew suffered from a ``lack of preparation, 
        ineffective command and control, and deficiencies in training and 
        preparations for navigation'';
Whereas the Navy the Nation Needs, the United States Navy's plan for building 
        and sustaining a lethal, resilient force through balanced investments 
        across readiness, capability, and capacity, explicitly states a need for 
        355 Battle Force ships, yet the Navy's 30-year shipbuilding plan peaks 
        at only 342 Battle Force ships in 2039 before a predicted decline;
Whereas an efficient and supported industrial base will be vital to building and 
        maintaining a 355 ship Navy;
Whereas over the previous 5 decades, 14 defense-related new-construction 
        shipyards have closed, 3 have left the defense industry, and only 1 new 
        shipyard has opened;
Whereas stable and predictable funding allows for Navy leaders to properly 
        forecast their missions and adhere to the Optimized Fleet Response Plan 
        while also enabling industry partners to prepare for ship repair work at 
        the most competitive prices to the United States Government;
Whereas China's shipbuilding industry, according to a Naval War College 
        professor, is poised to make the People's Liberation Army Navy the 
        world's second largest navy by 2020, and, if current trends continue, a 
        combat fleet that in overall order of battle is quantitatively on par 
        with that of the United States Navy by 2030;
Whereas China continues to develop forward operating bases on manmade islands in 
        the South China Sea and, by doing so, consolidate its control over the 
        strategic corridor between the Indian and Pacific Oceans through which 
        \1/3\ of global maritime trade passes; and
Whereas Russia's shipbuilding industry's focus on undersea warfare has 
        positioned the Russian Navy to add six modernized nuclear attack 
        submarines to its naval inventory by 2023 and aggressively modernize its 
        aging Oscar-class nuclear attack submarine fleet: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the United States Navy's need for 
        congressional support to address readiness, training, and 
        modernization challenges that threaten to weaken naval 
        superiority; and
            (2) finds that failing to provide the United States Navy 
        with stable, predictable funding negatively affects its ability 
        to project power around the world, reassure critical allies, 
        and defeat adversaries when necessary.
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