WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced today that, at his request, leaders of the Senate and House Armed Services Committee have preserved a $250 million authorization in the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act for an additional DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer that could be built at Bath Iron Works.

            “I am very encouraged that we were able to maintain this critical authorization, which will position Bath Iron Works to either receive another DDG-51 contract under the terms of the 2002 MOU or compete to build another one in the coming years – a significant win for Maine and for our Navy,” Senator King said. “The Arleigh Burke Class destroyers are the backbone of our Navy, and no one builds them better than the hardworking men and women at Bath Iron Works.”

Senator King’s request came as leaders of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees were working to find $5 billion in funding reductions in the NDAA so that the bill would conform to the spending levels established under the two-year budget deal negotiated by Congressional leadership and the President and passed by Congress on October 30^th to avoid a government default on its debt.

Senator King had originally secured and ushered through Congress an authorization for $400 million in incremental funding for an additional DDG-51 that the Navy could procure in the next three years, potentially at Bath Iron Works. However, because the $400 million was an additional authorization – meaning that it was added by Senator King during the Committee process and not requested by the Administration – it had been publicly identified as a potential easy target for elimination as Committee leaders sought to find $5 billion in reductions.

Senator King urged Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to preserve as much of the authorization as possible. Senator McCain and his House counterpart, Representative Mac Thornberry, announced today that the new bill preserves a $250 million authorization, a reduction that leaves more than half of the original added authorization intact. Congressional appropriators can still surpass the authorized level, which they would not have been able to do had the authorization been entirely eliminated.

The $250 million authorization lays the groundwork for the construction of a ship that Senator King believes is owed to Bath Iron Works by the Navy under the terms of a 2002 Memorandum of Understanding. However, if the Navy determines that it does not owe a ship to BIW, then the $250 million could be used in Fiscal Year 2018 or afterward as part of a future multi-year procurement for Arleigh Burke Class Destroys, for which BIW could compete.

The NDAA agreement announced today also continues to authorize almost $4 billion for Navy destroyer programs, including $433 million for the construction of DDG-1000 Zumwalt destroyers – all of which are being built or will be built at Bath Iron Works – and $3.1 billion for the procurement of two DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, one of which will be built at Bath.

“Congress continues to recognize the vast contributions that Bath Iron Works makes to our national defense,” Senator King said. “These authorizations will ultimately bolster’s the Navy’s fleet during a time when ongoing tensions around the globe demand a strong naval presence, and they will also help provide much-needed stability to the workforce at the yard as they continue to build the best and most-technologically advanced ships to ever take to the seas.”

The bill also includes a provision pushed by Senator King that improves the eligibility criteria of HUBZones located at former U.S. military installations closed through the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process that would help stimulate economic growth and create jobs.

With this announcement, the Senate and House will move to pass the 2016 NDAA within the next week. The NDAA had originally been passed by Congress, but was vetoed by President Obama due to concerns over funding mechanisms which have been resolved under the two-year budget agreement. If this new agreement is adopted, a veto override vote will not be taken up by either house because it has been superseded by the overall budget deal.

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