BATH – The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense on Sunday approved $100 million in funding to allow Bath Iron Works to begin building a fifth DDG-51 destroyer.
The funding was included in the National Defense Authorization Act, which President Barack Obama signed in December, but the appropriations committee still had to appropriate the funding.
In June, the Department of Defense awarded contracts for nine Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, five to Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. and four to BIW, with the option for a fifth.
In June, automatic federal spending cuts known as sequestration, which took effect in March 2013 after Congress failed to strike a budget and national debt reduction deal, resulted in a more than $300 million shortfall in funding for the fifth DDG-51.
The $100 million, while not enough to fund the entire ship, will allow Bath Iron Works to begin work on the hull, according to defense industry analyst Loren Thompson at the Arlington, Va.-based Lexington Institute.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a senior member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which approved the funding, said in a statement Monday that the Navy was ready to sign the contract option once the $100 million was approved.
“I worked to secure this critical funding, which is necessary to procure the fifth DDG-51 from BIW, because it will not only help add stability to the workforce there and result in additional savings for the taxpayers, but it will allow the Navy to send another DDG-51 to sea that is capable of performing many roles and missions in support of our national defense,” Collins said in a statement Monday.”
“This funding is critical to the future work of the shipyard,” U.S. Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree said in a joint release Monday night. “Eliminating this shortfall will help maintain the Navy’s readiness, and it’s yet another endorsement of the outstanding work being done by our shipbuilders in Bath.”
Securing the fifth destroyer would not immediately affect staffing levels at Bath Iron Works, shipyard spokesman Jim DeMartini said.
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