WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- A congressional subcommittee has approved funding to further boost the U.S. Navy's shipbuilding program.
The proposals won support from the Democrats who control the committee and the Republicans who now have minority status on it.
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., the ranking Republican on the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, commented on the markups the subcommittee had made to U.S. Navy acquisition programs within the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008.
"By strengthening the shipbuilding program ... we take an additional step to delivering the Chief of Naval Operation's 313-ship Navy," Bartlett said.
The subcommittee was also "continuing to push for modernization in shipyards through process or infrastructure improvements, workforce training, or ship life-cycle cost savings," Bartlett said.
"In our travels together, we have seen how similar efforts at foreign yards have created world-class commercial shipbuilding environments. There is no reason why we can't apply some of these lessons learned at our military shipyards to reap benefits across multiple classes of ships," he said.
Bartlett said he also supported "the remaining provisions in the subcommittee (markup) that increase the Navy's shipbuilding procurement flexibilities, encourage continued competition between the two LCS (Littoral Combat Ship) designs and the application of LCS lessons learned to other programs, promote maximum utilization of vessel design life, and authorize appropriations and authorities for the Maritime Administration."
The armed services subcommittees have reflected ongoing bipartisan cooperation between Republicans and Democrats in attempting to streamline procurement processes and cut costs for naval and military systems.
