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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 limited exceptions to the prohibition on constructing U.S. Navy vessels in foreign shipyards. Naval vessels may be constructed in foreign shipyards if the shipyard is located in a NATO member country or an Indo-Pacific country with a mutual defense treaty with the United States, and if the construction cost in the foreign shipyard is less than what construction would cost in a domestic U.S. shipyard. Before any naval vessel or major hull or superstructure component can be constructed at a foreign shipyard under this exception, the Secretary of the Navy must certify to Congress that the foreign shipyard is not owned or operated by a Chinese company or a multinational company based in China. This bill allows the Navy to leverage lower-cost allied foreign shipyard capacity while maintaining security restrictions against construction in Chinese-controlled facilities.
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)
- Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT)
1 cosponsor
- Sen. Curtis, John R. [R-UT] (R-UT)
Actions (2)
- Feb 5, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services. · senate
- Feb 5, 2025 Introduced in Senate
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.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 5, 2025
Mr. Lee (for himself and Mr. Curtis) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 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, provided that—
“(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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