FASTER, PLEASE: Bipartisan ‘Ships for America Act’ Building Support in Congress, Say Sponsors.

A comprehensive bill to restore U.S. shipbuilding capacity, build back its shipyard workforce and crew those ships with American mariners will soon be introduced in both houses of Congress with strong bipartisan support, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Airland subcommittee said Wednesday.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a graduate of the Merchant Marine Academy, said the 200-page bill called “Ships for America Act,” has more than 200 members from both houses supporting it and will likely be introduced following the November election.

Kelly and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), chair of the House Armed Services Readiness subcommittee, have been meeting “with industry – shipbuilding, operators, labor” to gain support for the bill.

They also were leaders in writing “Congressional Guidance for a National Maritime Strategy,” released this spring, which laid the groundwork for the bill. Waltz called the document “a not so gentle nudge” to the Biden administration and future administrations that the “strength of the Navy will be underlined by the strength of our maritime industry.”

Waltz, appearing with Kelly on the U.S. Naval Institute’s and the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Maritime Security Dialogue webcast, pointed to USNS Big Horn (T-AO-198) as evidence that U.S. shipbuilding needs immediate attention. With at least one rudder damaged and its main engine space partially flooded, the oiler had to be towed to a port in Oman for repair.

The best time to get serious about our naval capacity crisis was at least 20 years ago. The next best time is right now.