Bill Details
S.406 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-02-05 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
Introduced Date
2025-02-05
Policy Area
Armed Forces and National Security
Committees
View committees (1)
Sponsors
Cosponsors
View cosponsors (1)
8
0
0
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would create a narrow exception to the current ban on building Navy ships in foreign shipyards. It would let the Navy use a shipyard outside the United States only if that shipyard is in a NATO country or in an Indo-Pacific country that has a mutual defense treaty with the United States, and only if the foreign work would cost less than building the ship in a U.S. shipyard. Before any Navy vessel, or major part of its hull or superstructure, is built this way, the Secretary of the Navy would also have to tell Congress that the foreign shipyard is not owned or run by a Chinese company, or by a multinational company based in China.
- Changes existing law so the Navy can approve foreign construction in limited cases instead of treating it as generally prohibited.
- Requires the foreign shipyard to be in a NATO member country or in an Indo-Pacific country with a mutual defense treaty with the United States.
- Allows the exception only when the foreign shipyard is cheaper than using a domestic shipyard.
- Requires a formal certification to Congress that the shipyard is not owned or operated by a Chinese company or a company based in the People’s Republic of China.
Official Summaries
No summaries available
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 406 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 406
To authorize an exception to the prohibition on the construction of
naval vessels in foreign shipyards, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
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.''.
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