Lawmakers are expressing strong discontent with the Navy for its recent negotiations with industry aimed at enhancing the industrial base for the Virginia-class submarine program, claiming that the Navy did so without adequately informing Capitol Hill or the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This lack of communication potentially undermines the service’s recent supplemental funding request.
In a statement accompanying a compromise version of the next defense policy bill released over the weekend, lawmakers highlighted their concerns over the „lack of transparency” exhibited by the Navy in the past 18 months. They detailed that the Navy had negotiated a funding strategy with industry stakeholders, encompassing elements such as addressing cost growth, future completion costs, workforce wage increases, and infrastructure investments at the shipyards operated by General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding. However, these efforts were conducted in isolation without informing Congress or OMB.
Furthermore, the statement referenced the Navy’s $5.7 billion supplemental funding request aimed at confronting shortfalls in the Virginia-class program, which the OMB sent to lawmakers last month. According to lawmakers, this plan could necessitate an undisclosed amount of additional appropriations beyond the estimates included in the fiscal year 2025 President’s budget.
In their statement, lawmakers pointed out that the Navy’s failure to communicate „large cost growth” associated with the submarines has left Congress with limited options for addressing the issue effectively.
Breaking Defense has sought a response from the Navy regarding these concerns.
Under the current compromise NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act), the language authorizes $3.9 billion for Virginia-class program procurement, which is $357 million above the president’s budget request. However, congressional appropriators must match this funding before it can be allocated to the Navy.
The inclusion of this statement in the explanatory text reflects bipartisan support from both chambers of Congress and signals a clear warning to Navy leadership, especially as a new administration prepares to take office in January. This development follows a recent emergency supplemental request by OMB that aims to bolster the production of three Virginia-class submarines and maintain the Columbia-class submarine program amid potential continuing resolution scenarios.
A senior Navy official, who requested anonymity, acknowledged to reporters that the Virginia-class fast attack submarine program is currently not meeting necessary production rates in alignment with national security and defense strategies.
