SHIPYARD Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2860 To appropriate an additional amount to improve the Navy shipyard infrastructure of the United States. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 26, 2021 Mr. WITTMAN (for himself and Mr. GALLAGHER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To appropriate an additional amount to improve the Navy shipyard infrastructure of the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supplying Help to In- 4 frastructure in Ports, Yards, and America’s Repair Docks 5 Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘SHIPYARD Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress makes the following findings: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2860.IH H2860 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2860 IH (1) Since the beginning of our Nation, the four 1 public shipyards that support the United States 2 Navy have continued to be foundational cornerstones 3 of the strategic infrastructure of the United States, 4 and those shipyards will continue to be so in the fu- 5 ture. 6 (2) Although originally built in the age of sail- 7 ing ships, the shipyards have been incrementally up- 8 dated overtime, but in 2021, are in need of a 9 generational investment to modernize and upgrade 10 the outdated facilities to ensure they can continue to 11 repair the United States Navy for another 200 12 years. This Act would provide the necessary authori- 13 ties and appropriations to make those strategic as- 14 sets ready to meet the future demands of the United 15 States, while securing and expanding domestic capa- 16 bilities across many sectors of the economy critical 17 to ensuring the independence of the United States 18 from, and preventing over-reliance, on foreign com- 19 merce. 20 (3) On November 1, 1767, Andrew Sprowle, a 21 merchant and ship owner, established Gosport Ship- 22 yard on the western shore of the Elizabeth River, in 23 the Colony of Virginia, under the British flag. The 24 shipyard developed and prospered as both a naval 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2860.IH H2860 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2860 IH and merchant shipyard, supporting the maritime in- 1 dustry that was critical to the survival of the early 2 colonies and then to the fledgling United States. 3 When the American Revolution began, the infra- 4 structure resident at this former colonial shipyard 5 became a nucleus in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, 6 area for the United States Navy. For more than 230 7 years, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard has assisted the 8 United States in winning nine major wars, putting 9 an end to piracy, sending the Great White Fleet 10 around the world, supporting scientific exploration of 11 the Pacific, and opening Asia to United States 12 trade. Today, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard conducts 13 critical maintenance to the Nation’s Nuclear Navy to 14 include aircraft carriers, ballistic missile submarines, 15 and fast attack submarines. 16 (4) On June 12, 1800, under the administra- 17 tion of President John Adams, the Portsmouth 18 Naval Shipyard was established. The Portsmouth 19 Naval Shipyard is the United States Navy’s oldest 20 continuously operating shipyard. In 1776, during the 21 Revolutionary War, the USS Raleigh was built in 22 Kittery, Maine, and became the first vessel to fly an 23 American flag into battle. For more than 221 years, 24 the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has contributed to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2860.IH H2860 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2860 IH the Nation’s security and has been instrumental in 1 United States diplomacy, when, in 1905, President 2 Theodore Roosevelt selected the Portsmouth Naval 3 Shipyard as the location to host the Treaty of Ports- 4 mouth, which ended the Russo-Japanese War. 5 Today, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard overhauls, 6 refuels, and modernizes the Nation’s fast attack sub- 7 marine fleet. 8 (5) In 1889, Congress approved a budget to 9 purchase land around Sinclair Inlet in Kitsap Coun- 10 ty, Washington. In 1892, additional land was added 11 and the United States Navy broke ground for the 12 construction of the first of six dry-docks that would 13 form what is now the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. 14 Since that time, the shipyard was front and center 15 in supporting the Nation’s efforts in World War I, 16 World War II, and the Korean War by constructing 17 submarines, surface ships, and support vessels re- 18 quired to win those wars. In late 1965, the USS 19 Sculpin (SSN 590) became the first nuclear-powered 20 submarine worked on at the Puget Sound Naval 21 Shipyard. The Shipyard site at Naval Base Kitsap- 22 Bremerton provides longer-term, full-service mainte- 23 nance and inactivation and recycling work on air- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2860.IH H2860 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2860 IH craft carriers, surface ships, and submarines, uti- 1 lizing six drydocks and adjacent piers. 2 (6) On May 13, 1908, Navy Yard Pearl Harbor 3 was officially established on the Hawaiian Island of 4 Oahu, and the Navy Yard has proven to be vital to 5 the defense of the United States and its interests in 6 the Asia-Pacific region. The shipyard has been in- 7 strumental in enabling the United States to secure 8 sea-lanes of communication and commerce that has 9 strengthened the Nation’s ability to project power 10 across the expansive Pacific and Indian Oceans. For 11 generations, the shipyard has supported the global 12 interests of the United States in a critical geo- 13 graphic region. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor 14 and the Navy Yard at Pearl Harbor were the scene 15 of a devastating attack on the United States by the 16 Imperial Japanese Navy. Despite the devastating at- 17 tack, the shipyard and its workers were able to re- 18 turn ships damaged in the attack back into service 19 and enabled the United States to win the Pacific 20 War. For more than 113 years, the Pearl Harbor 21 Naval Shipyard’s strategic location in the Pacific 22 has assured the safety and prosperity of the United 23 States through the maintenance of Navy ships. 24 Today the shipyard supports the maintenance of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2860.IH H2860 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2860 IH Navy’s nuclear submarine fleet as well as surface 1 ships. 2 (7) In April 2013, the Navy provided Congress 3 a public shipyard investment plan, which identified 4 investments needed to optimize, improve, and rebuild 5 shipyard facilities, electrical infrastructure, environ- 6 mental systems, and equipment, and needed to im- 7 prove the timely return of ships and submarines 8 back to the fleet following maintenance and mod- 9 ernization, to support the combat readiness of the 10 United States. To this end, the Navy developed the 11 Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program, 12 which is a comprehensive, 20-year, $21,000,000,000 13 effort to modernize infrastructure at the four naval 14 shipyards through— 15 (A) performing critical dry dock repairs; 16 (B) restoring and optimally placing ship- 17 yard facilities; and 18 (C) replacing aging and deteriorating cap- 19 ital equipment. 20 (8) In addition to the Nation’s public shipyards, 21 the United States continues to rely on the capacity 22 and capabilities of private new construction and re- 23 pair shipyards to meet the strategic maritime needs 24 of the United States Navy, the United States Coast 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2860.IH H2860 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2860 IH Guard, and the Nation’s maritime industry. Such 1 shipyards, located on every coast of the United 2 States, also require substantial recapitalization and 3 reconfiguration in order to meet the construction 4 and sustainment requirements of our maritime Na- 5 tion. This Act recognizes the vital role such private 6 shipyards play in the United States and accordingly 7 authorizes and appropriates funds to ensure they are 8 able to continue to provide those strategic capabili- 9 ties in the future. 10 SEC. 3. NAVY SHIPYARD INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT. 11 (a) APPROPRIATION.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Out of any money in the 13 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appro- 14 priated, there is appropriated, as an additional 15 amount for ‘‘Defense Production Act Purchases’’, 16 $25,000,000,000, to remain available until ex- 17 pended, to improve, in accordance with subsection 18 (b) and using the authority provided by section 19 303(e) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 20 U.S.C. 4533(e)), the Navy shipyard infrastructure of 21 the United States. 22 (2) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts 23 appropriated under paragraph (1) shall supplement 24 and not supplant other amounts appropriated or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2860.IH H2860 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2860 IH otherwise made available for the purpose described 1 in paragraph (1). 2 (3) WAIVER OF CERTAIN LIMITATIONS.—Dur- 3 ing the 10-year period beginning on the date of the 4 enactment of this Act, the following requirements of 5 the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 6 4501 et seq.) shall not apply to amounts appro- 7 priated under paragraph (1): 8 (A) The requirement for a determination 9 of the President under section 303(e)(1) of that 10 Act (50 U.S.C. 4533(e)(1)). 11 (B) The requirement under section 304(e) 12 of that Act (50 U.S.C. 4534(e)) that amounts 13 in the Defense Production Act Fund in excess 14 of the amount specified in that subsection be 15 paid into the general fund of the Treasury at 16 the end of a fiscal year. 17 (4) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—The amount 18 appropriated under paragraph (1) is designated by 19 the Congress as being for an emergency requirement 20 pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced 21 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 22 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)). 23 (b) USE OF FUNDS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2860.IH H2860 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2860 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 1 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 2 of Defense shall make the amounts appropriated 3 under subsection (a) directly available to the Sec- 4 retary of the Navy for obligation and expenditure. 5 (2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary of 6 the Navy shall allocate the amounts appropriated 7 under subsection (a) as follows: 8 (A) $21,000,000,000 for Navy public ship- 9 yard facilities, dock, dry dock, capital equip- 10 ment improvements, and dredging efforts need- 11 ed by such shipyards. 12 (B) $2,000,000,000 for Navy private new 13 construction shipyard facilities, dock, dry dock, 14 capital equipment improvements, and dredging 15 efforts needed by such shipyards. 16 (C) $2,000,000,000 for Navy private re- 17 pair shipyard facilities, dock, dry dock, capital 18 equipment improvements, and dredging efforts 19 needed by such shipyards. 20 (3) USE OF FUNDS FOR PROCUREMENT OF 21 CERTAIN SERVICES.—Notwithstanding any provision 22 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 23 4501 et seq.), amounts appropriated under sub- 24 section (a) may be used for the procurement of ar- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2860.IH H2860 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2860 IH chitect-engineer and construction services at Navy 1 public shipyards. 2 (4) PROJECTS IN ADDITION TO OTHER CON- 3 STRUCTION PROJECTS.—Construction projects un- 4 dertaken using amounts appropriated under sub- 5 section (a) shall be in addition to and separate from 6 any military construction program authorized by any 7 Act to authorize appropriations for a fiscal year for 8 military activities of the Department of Defense and 9 for military construction. 10 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 11 (1) NAVY PUBLIC SHIPYARD.—The term ‘‘Navy 12 public shipyard’’ means the following: 13 (A) The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia. 14 (B) The Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, 15 Hawaii. 16 (C) The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, 17 Maine. 18 (D) The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, 19 Washington. 20 (2) NAVY PRIVATE NEW CONSTRUCTION SHIP- 21 YARD.—The term ‘‘Navy private new construction 22 shipyard’’— 23 (A) means any shipyard in which one or 24 more combatant or support vessels included in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2860.IH H2860 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2860 IH the most recent plan submitted under section 1 231 of title 10, United States Code, are being 2 built or are planned to be built; and 3 (B) includes vendors and suppliers of the 4 shipyard building or planning to build a com- 5 batant or support vessel. 6 (3) NAVY PRIVATE REPAIR SHIPYARD.—The 7 term ‘‘Navy private repair shipyard’’— 8 (A) means any shipyard that performs or 9 is planned to perform maintenance or mod- 10 ernization work on a combatant or support ves- 11 sel included in the most recent plan submitted 12 under section 231 of title 10, United States 13 Code; and 14 (B) includes vendors and suppliers of the 15 shipyard performing or planning to perform 16 maintenance or modernization work on a com- 17 batant or support vessel. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2860.IH H2860 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS