Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there is a need to rebuild the Navy and ensure that it is prepared to engage with adversaries around the world through an increased investment in the United States naval power.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 99 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there is a need to rebuild the Navy and ensure that it is prepared to engage with adversaries around the world through an increased investment in the United States naval power. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 5, 2019 Mr. BANKS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there is a need to rebuild the Navy and ensure that it is prepared to engage with adversaries around the world through an increased investment in the United States naval power. Whereas the United States naval buildup completed prior to World War II was quintessential to the success of the Nation and its allies and ensured victory in that and sub- sequent wars; Whereas the Navy has too few platforms to wage warfare in the 21st century against a myriad of potential adver- saries; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Feb 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR99.IH HR99 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 99 IH Whereas adversaries of the United States are increasing the sizes of their fleets and building their anti-ship capabili- ties; Whereas the United States must build up the Navy in prepa- ration for this threat; Whereas the United States is a maritime nation and must maintain a Navy that is capable of deterring and, if nec- essary, waging war against nation states and non-state actors alike with overwhelming force in a swift and deci- sive manner; Whereas the fleet is not sufficiently sized to deter adversaries while maintaining continuous presence in contentious re- gions with deployments of naval forces in regions where the United States has demonstrated national interests; Whereas readiness concerns that would preclude successful engagements against enemies on multiple fronts is unac- ceptable in today’s global threat environment; Whereas given the large forward deployed surface force re- quirement at any given moment, there is not sufficient time for the fleet to address training and material readi- ness challenges with the current fleet size; Whereas the threat the United States faces is growing and evolving; Whereas China is investing heavily in a naval buildup, and President Xi Jinping expects China to be a global power by 2050 and is attempting to construct a military to sur- pass as the United States; Whereas since 2016, the Navy has had 18 unsafe or unpro- fessional encounters with Chinese military forces in the Pacific; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Feb 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR99.IH HR99 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 99 IH Whereas Russia is also actively modernizing its fleet and in- creasing military activity in the Arctic; Whereas Iran is demonstrating an increase in activity in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman with no indication of de-escalation; Whereas the United States is the primary protector of inter- national freedom of navigation laws, which necessitates persistent presence in the contested waters of the South China Sea, operations to limit piracy off the Horn of Af- rica, and abiding demonstrations of interest to ensure safe commercial transport throughout the world; Whereas in response to natural disasters in the United States and abroad, the Navy provides crucial support to prevent the loss of life and support recovery efforts; and Whereas the advantages of maintaining the capability to for- ward operate around the world is critical to maintaining flexibility and agility in today’s evolving battle space: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes the need for the Navy to increase 2 its long-term capabilities and recommends the fol- 3 lowing force structure by the year 2050— 4 (A) 12 Ballistic missile submarines; 5 (B) 100 nuclear powered attack sub- 6 marines; 7 (C) 15 aircraft carriers; 8 (D) 156 Large and small surface combat- 9 ants; 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Feb 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR99.IH HR99 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 99 IH (E) 8 Polar surface combatants; 1 (F) 38 Amphibious ships; 2 (G) 54 Combat Logistics Force ships; 3 (H) 14 Expeditionary Fast Transports; 4 (I) 6 Expeditionary Support Base ships; 5 and 6 (J) 23 Command and support ships; 7 (2) recognizes the need for yearly updates from 8 the Secretary of the Navy to Congress on ship- 9 building and status of the fleet; and 10 (3) recognizes that shipbuilding most continue 11 to be commensurate to the threat, therefore constant 12 innovation and analysis will be required when deter- 13 mining construction schedule and requirements. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Feb 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR99.IH HR99 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS