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To authorize an exception to the prohibition on the construction of naval vessels in foreign shipyards, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill creates an exception to the federal prohibition on constructing naval vessels in foreign shipyards. The exception allows construction in foreign shipyards located in NATO member countries or Indo-Pacific region countries with mutual defense treaties with the United States, provided the construction cost is less than it would be in a domestic shipyard. Before construction can commence, the Secretary of the Navy must certify that the foreign shipyard is not owned or operated by a Chinese company or multinational company based in China.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Kennedy, Mike [R-UT-3] (R-UT)
Actions (2)
- Aug 12, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services. · house
- Aug 12, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
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Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 12, 2025
Mr. Kennedy of Utah introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
A BILL
To authorize an exception to the prohibition on the construction of naval vessels in foreign shipyards, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Ensuring Naval Readiness Act”.
SEC. 2. EXCEPTION TO PROHIBITION ON CONSTRUCTION OF NAVAL VESSELS IN FOREIGN SHIPYARDS.
Section 8679 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking “subsection (b)” and inserting “subsections (b) and (c)”; and
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking “to do so.” and inserting the following: “to do so, if—
“(A) the foreign shipyard concerned is located in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member country or a country in the Indo-Pacific Region that is party to a mutual defense treaty with the United States; and
“(B) the cost of the construction concerned is less than the cost would be if such construction occurred in a domestic shipyard.”; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(3) Before the construction of a naval vessel, or a major component of the hull or superstructure of a naval vessel, may commence at a foreign shipyard pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary of the Navy shall submit to Congress a certification that the foreign shipyard is not owned or operated by a Chinese company or a multinational company domiciled in the People’s Republic of China.”. <all>
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