House Passes Defense Funding Bill with Remaining $433 Million Needed for Additional DDG-51 to be Built at BIW

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after the House passed the 2017 Defense funding bill, which includes $433 million for the construction of an additional Arleigh Burke class destroyer (DDG-51) that will be awarded to Bath Iron Works (BIW). This ship is in addition to the two ships funded in the bill as part of a cost-saving multiyear procurement (MYP) contract to build up to 10 ships from 2013-2017. Assuming this 2017 Defense appropriations bill becomes law, the ship will be fully funded after receiving $1 billion in additional funding in the previously enacted FY2016 bill. 

“I worked hard to ensure that the FY2017 Defense Spending Bill included the recommendations of the Navy to fully fund this Arleigh Burke class destroyer to be built at BIW,” said Senator Collins. “With countless threats across the globe, the value and importance of our naval assets to security and stability have never been greater. Destroyers are the workhorses of the Navy, and there is no workforce better positioned to build this DDG-51 than the men and women of BIW. This investment will help to grow the Navy’s combat capabilities at a time when the Navy fleet is in high demand to protect national security interests worldwide and preserve the security and stability of our country.”

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins secured this $433 million in funding in the Defense appropriations bill that passed the Committee unanimously in May 2016. The funding builds on the $1 billion Senator Collins secured toward the construction of an additional DDG-51 destroyer in 2015. At present, the Navy has 272 deployable battle force ships, well short of the goal set by the Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan, which calls for the United States to have 308 ships by fiscal year 2021.