12 Carrier Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 700 To increase the number of operational aircraft carriers of the Navy, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 22, 2019 Mr. CONAWAY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To increase the number of operational aircraft carriers of the Navy, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘12 Carrier Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 5 Congress finds the following: 6 (1) The aircraft carrier can fulfill the Navy’s 7 core missions of forward presence, sea control, en- 8 suring safe sea lanes, and power projection as well 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Feb 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H700.IH H700 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 700 IH as providing flexibility and versatility to execute a 1 wide range of additional missions. 2 (2) Forward airpower is integral to the security 3 and joint forces operations of the United States. 4 Carriers play a central role in delivering forward air- 5 power from sovereign territory of the United States 6 in both permissive and nonpermissive environments. 7 (3) Aircraft carriers provide our Nation the 8 ability to rapidly and decisively respond to national 9 threats, as well as conducting worldwide, on-station 10 diplomacy and providing deterrence against threats 11 to the United States allies, partners, and friends. 12 (4) Since the end of the cold war, aircraft car- 13 rier deployments have increased while the aircraft 14 carrier force structure has declined. 15 (5) Considering the increased array of complex 16 threats across the globe, the Navy aircraft carrier is 17 operating at maximum capacity, increasing deploy- 18 ment lengths and decreasing maintenance periods in 19 order to meet operational requirements. 20 (6) To meet global peacetime and wartime re- 21 quirements, the Navy has indicated a requirement to 22 maintain two aircraft carriers deployed overseas and 23 have three additional aircraft carriers capable of de- 24 ploying within 90 days. However, the Navy has indi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Feb 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H700.IH H700 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 700 IH cated that the existing aircraft carrier force struc- 1 ture cannot support these military requirements. 2 (7) Despite the requirement to maintain an air- 3 craft carrier strike group in both the United States 4 Central Command and United States Pacific Com- 5 mand, the Navy has been unable to generate suffi- 6 cient capacity to support our combatant com- 7 manders and has developed significant carrier gaps 8 in these critical areas. 9 (8) Because of continuing use of a diminished 10 aircraft carrier force structure, extensive mainte- 11 nance availabilities result which typically exceed pro- 12 gram costs and increase time in shipyards. These ex- 13 pansive maintenance availabilities exacerbate exist- 14 ing carrier gaps. 15 (9) Because of maintenance overhaul exten- 16 sions, the Navy is truncating basic aircraft carrier 17 training to expedite the deployment of available air- 18 craft carriers. Limiting aircraft carrier training de- 19 creases operational capabilities and increases sailor 20 risk. 21 (10) The Navy has adopted a two-phase acqui- 22 sition strategy for the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy 23 (CVN–79), an action that will delay the introduction 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Feb 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H700.IH H700 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 700 IH of this aircraft carrier by up to two years, exacer- 1 bating existing carrier gaps. 2 (11) Developing an alternative design to the 3 Ford-class aircraft carrier is not cost beneficial. A 4 smaller design is projected to incur significant de- 5 sign and engineering cost while significantly reduc- 6 ing magazine size, carrier air wing size, sortie rate, 7 and on-station effectiveness among other vital fac- 8 tors when compared to the Ford class. Furthermore, 9 a new design will delay the introduction of future 10 aircraft carriers, exacerbating existing carrier gaps 11 and threatening the national security of the United 12 States. 13 SEC. 3. INCREASE IN NUMBER OF OPERATIONAL AIRCRAFT 14 CARRIERS OF THE NAVY. 15 (a) INCREASE.—Section 8062(b) of title 10, United 16 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘11 operational air- 17 craft carriers’’ and inserting ‘‘12 operational aircraft car- 18 riers’’. 19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 20 subsection (a) shall take effect on September 30, 2023. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Feb 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H700.IH H700 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS