H. Res. 998 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

July 17, 2018. 

Whereas Navy readiness could further deteriorate in areas 

such as training, ship construction, ship repair, and 

deployability if Congress does not provide stable funding 

for the Department of Defense; 

Whereas the USS Fitzgerald, a United States Navy destroyer, collided with a container ship while transiting 

through Sagami Bay near Japan on June 17, 2017, resulting in the deaths of seven sailors and hundreds of 

millions of dollars in damage; 

Whereas the United States Navy’s investigation of the USS 

Fitzgerald collision concluded that the event was ‘‘avoidable’’ and that numerous failures included failure to plan 

for safety, failure to adhere to sound navigation practice, 

failure to execute basic watch standing practices, failure 

to properly use available navigation tools, and failure to 

respond deliberately and effectively when in extremis; 

Whereas the USS John S. McCain, a United States Navy destroyer, collided with an oil tanker while transiting 

through the Straits of Singapore on August 21, 2017, resulting in the deaths of 10 sailors and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage; 
2 

•HRES 998 EH 

Whereas the United States Navy’s investigation of the USS 

John S. McCain collision concluded that the crew suffered from a ‘‘lack of preparation, ineffective command 

and control, and deficiencies in training and preparations 

for navigation’’; 

Whereas the Navy the Nation Needs, the United States 

Navy’s plan for building and sustaining a lethal, resilient 

force through balanced investments across readiness, capability, and capacity, explicitly states a need for 355 

Battle Force ships, yet the Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding 

plan peaks at only 342 Battle Force ships in 2039 before 

a predicted decline; 

Whereas an efficient and supported industrial base will be 

vital to building and maintaining a 355 ship Navy; 

Whereas over the previous 5 decades, 14 defense-related newconstruction shipyards have closed, 3 have left the defense industry, and only 1 new shipyard has opened; 

Whereas stable and predictable funding allows for Navy leaders to properly forecast their missions and adhere to the 

Optimized Fleet Response Plan while also enabling industry partners to prepare for ship repair work at the most 

competitive prices to the United States Government; 

Whereas China’s shipbuilding industry, according to a Naval 

War College professor, is poised to make the People’s 

Liberation Army Navy the world’s second largest navy by 

2020, and, if current trends continue, a combat fleet that 

in overall order of battle is quantitatively on par with 

that of the United States Navy by 2030; 

Whereas China continues to develop forward operating bases 

on manmade islands in the South China Sea and, by 

doing so, consolidate its control over the strategic cor-
3 

•HRES 998 EH 

ridor between the Indian and Pacific Oceans through 

which 1⁄3 of global maritime trade passes; and 

Whereas Russia’s shipbuilding industry’s focus on undersea 

warfare has positioned the Russian Navy to add six modernized nuclear attack submarines to its naval inventory 

by 2023 and aggressively modernize its aging Oscar-class 

nuclear attack submarine fleet: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) recognizes the United States Navy’s need for 

congressional support to address readiness, training, and 

modernization challenges that threaten to weaken naval 

superiority; and 

(2) finds that failing to provide the United States 

Navy with stable, predictable funding negatively affects 

its ability to project power around the world, reassure 

critical allies, and defeat adversaries when necessary. 

Attest: 

Clerk.