Pentagon considering permanent naval task force to counter China in the Pacific politico.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from politico.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Biden Defense Budget Gives China Upper Hand, Republican Hawks Say
Budget proposal could force Navy to cut 11 battle-ready boats A U.S. Navy exercise / Getty Images Jack Beyrer • June 5, 2021 5:00 am
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President Joe Biden s $6 trillion budget proposal puts money toward universal pre-K and cracking down on the fossil fuel industry but shrinks the Navy s budget for weapons procurement and building warships, leaving it at severe risk in a potential showdown with China.
The Biden budget released on the eve of Memorial Day weekend makes major cuts to the Navy in some of its most needed areas, such as building equipment and training sailors. The Navy will need to reckon with a more than 5 percent drop in shipbuilding dollars and the decommissioning of 11 combat-ready ships, including 4 advanced warships.
“Congress has already taken the important step of committing to a larger Navy, but our shipyards are having trouble servicing today’s 296-ship fleet and are clearly insufficient to maintain the 355-ship or larger fleet that we need to counter China, Russia and other adversaries,” said Sen. Roger Wicker, Mississippi Republican and a lead author of the bill.
Without money earmarked for building up domestic shipyards, the Navy will be forced to “limp along” with its fleet continuing to degrade, said Jerry Hendrix, a retired U.S. Navy captain and analyst with the Telemus Group.
“The great-power competition with China is essentially naval in character. If you’re going to meet that competition, you need a naval-based strategy,” he said.
Bipartisan group of lawmakers seeks billions for aging U S shipyards washingtontimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtontimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Seapower backers propose $25B to fix US shipyards 2 hours ago
The aircraft carrier Nimitz at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash., during a maintenance period in 2018. (Navy) WASHINGTON ― As the U.S. Navy grapples with outdated maintenance facilities and a fleet stretched by maintenance backlogs, a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers are proposing a $25 billion cash infusion for public and private shipyards timed for Congress’s debate on a massive infrastructure package. The additional money would fully fund the Navy’s ongoing 20-year, $21 billion public shipyard recapitalization plan in a single year, with flexibility to spend that money over time. Another $4 billion for private shipyards that build and maintain the fleet makes up the rest.