The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), front, passes the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) as it departs Norfolk Naval Shipyard after completing a 10-month regularly scheduled extended carrier incremental availability. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Steven Edgar)
WASHINGTON — Three House lawmakers today introduced legislation to establish a congressional commission to “investigate the condition of the U.S. maritime industry and impediments to its growth.”
The bill, dubbed the “Save Our Shipyards Act,” is co-sponsored by Reps. Mark Green, R-Tenn., Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Don Davis, D-N.C. If passed into law, the bill would establish a “national commission on the maritime industrial base.”
“With a laser focus on the needs of the American military, the commission will develop actionable policy recommendations to revitalize our maritime industrial base,” according to a statement from the lawmakers.
The state of American shipbuilding was pushed into the spotlight last week when President Donald Trump announced during an address to Congress the establishment of a new White House office focused on the subject.
Green is the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security while Davis and Kiggans are both members on the House Armed Services Committee. Historically, legislation related to national security rarely receives standalone votes on the House floor. Rather, members submit their legislation as amendments to the annual defense policy bill.
When asked about a path forward, a spokesman for Green told Breaking Defense, “With bipartisan support, and a broad recognition of this crisis on both sides of the aisle, we are exploring all options. This includes a standalone vote as well as an amendment to the must-pass NDAA.”
Even if the legislation is passed, congressional committees occasionally face stumbling blocks in their early days from a somewhat unlikely source — the lawmakers who established them. Such was the fate of an independent commission that lawmakers established in 2022 to offer policy recommendations for the US Navy’s force structure. That commission severely lagged in starting its work due to some lawmakers failing to appoint their respective commissioners.
Separately, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and other lawmakers have been touting their own shipbuilding-focused legislation, dubbed the “Ships For America Act.” That bill, among other things, would create a maritime czar inside the executive branch oversees shipbuilding issues that touch both the Pentagon and the Transportation Department. Notably, that legislation also had explicit support from former Rep. Mike Waltz, who is now Trump’s national security advisor.
Valerie Insinna contributed to this story.
