Washington D.C. – Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike McIntyre made the following statement at today’s Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee markup:

“Today the subcommittee meets in open session to markup and report the Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee jurisdictional inputs for consideration by the full committee next week in the markup of H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.”

“The mark before the members today continues the tradition of strong bipartisan support for our men and women in uniform. I would like to thank the Chairman and all of the Members of the subcommittee for their efforts over the last several months that enabled us to present this mark here today.”

“This mark includes $14.9 Billion for shipbuilding that would authorize a total of 10 new ships to include, 2 Virginia Class submarines, 1 Arleigh Burke class Destroyer, 4 Littoral Combat Ships, 1 San Antonio class amphibious ship, 1 Mobile Landing Platform ship and 1 Joint High Speed Vessel. This mark also authorizes $1.1 Billion for the National Defense Sealift Fund.”

“There are a number of legislative provisions included in this mark aimed at providing a more efficient way to procure ships and weapons systems. The subcommittee has authorized a new multi-year procurement for the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Destroyers and has added a third year of multi-year authority to fund the LHA-7 America class amphibious ship.”

“In addition, this mark includes several provisions that require increased oversight over critical programs that will ensure they stay on schedule and on cost. In particular, this mark requires the Comptroller General to conduct and annual review and report on the progress of the KC-46 tanker program. There are also two provisions for the Littoral Combat Ship. One breaks out the mission modules into their own separate funding lines, while the second requires a cost benefit analysis on maintainability and sustainability. All of these provisions represent the subcommittee’s commitment to ensuring all major programs receive the proper oversight to ensure tax payer dollars are spent wisely and effectively.”

“This mark is a balanced authorization of programs under the jurisdiction of this subcommittee and meets the needs of our men and women in uniform. I want to thank the Chairman again for his hard work and I look forward to moving this mark into the National Defense Authorization Act.”

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