I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2860 

To appropriate an additional amount to improve the Navy shipyard 

infrastructure of the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 26, 2021 

Mr. WITTMAN (for himself and Mr. GALLAGHER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and in addition 

to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To appropriate an additional amount to improve the Navy 

shipyard infrastructure of the United States. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supplying Help to In5 frastructure in Ports, Yards, and America’s Repair Docks 

6 Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘SHIPYARD Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) Since the beginning of our Nation, the four 

2 public shipyards that support the United States 

3 Navy have continued to be foundational cornerstones 

4 of the strategic infrastructure of the United States, 

5 and those shipyards will continue to be so in the fu6 ture. 

7 (2) Although originally built in the age of sail8 ing ships, the shipyards have been incrementally up9 dated overtime, but in 2021, are in need of a 

10 generational investment to modernize and upgrade 

11 the outdated facilities to ensure they can continue to 

12 repair the United States Navy for another 200 

13 years. This Act would provide the necessary authori14 ties and appropriations to make those strategic as15 sets ready to meet the future demands of the United 

16 States, while securing and expanding domestic capa17 bilities across many sectors of the economy critical 

18 to ensuring the independence of the United States 

19 from, and preventing over-reliance, on foreign com20 merce. 

21 (3) On November 1, 1767, Andrew Sprowle, a 

22 merchant and ship owner, established Gosport Ship23 yard on the western shore of the Elizabeth River, in 

24 the Colony of Virginia, under the British flag. The 

25 shipyard developed and prospered as both a naval 


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1 and merchant shipyard, supporting the maritime in2 dustry that was critical to the survival of the early 

3 colonies and then to the fledgling United States. 

4 When the American Revolution began, the infra5 structure resident at this former colonial shipyard 

6 became a nucleus in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, 

7 area for the United States Navy. For more than 230 

8 years, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard has assisted the 

9 United States in winning nine major wars, putting 

10 an end to piracy, sending the Great White Fleet 

11 around the world, supporting scientific exploration of 

12 the Pacific, and opening Asia to United States 

13 trade. Today, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard conducts 

14 critical maintenance to the Nation’s Nuclear Navy to 

15 include aircraft carriers, ballistic missile submarines, 

16 and fast attack submarines. 

17 (4) On June 12, 1800, under the administra18 tion of President John Adams, the Portsmouth 

19 Naval Shipyard was established. The Portsmouth 

20 Naval Shipyard is the United States Navy’s oldest 

21 continuously operating shipyard. In 1776, during the 

22 Revolutionary War, the USS Raleigh was built in 

23 Kittery, Maine, and became the first vessel to fly an 

24 American flag into battle. For more than 221 years, 

25 the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has contributed to 


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1 the Nation’s security and has been instrumental in 

2 United States diplomacy, when, in 1905, President 

3 Theodore Roosevelt selected the Portsmouth Naval 

4 Shipyard as the location to host the Treaty of Ports5 mouth, which ended the Russo-Japanese War. 

6 Today, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard overhauls, 

7 refuels, and modernizes the Nation’s fast attack sub8 marine fleet. 

9 (5) In 1889, Congress approved a budget to 

10 purchase land around Sinclair Inlet in Kitsap Coun11 ty, Washington. In 1892, additional land was added 

12 and the United States Navy broke ground for the 

13 construction of the first of six dry-docks that would 

14 form what is now the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. 

15 Since that time, the shipyard was front and center 

16 in supporting the Nation’s efforts in World War I, 

17 World War II, and the Korean War by constructing 

18 submarines, surface ships, and support vessels re19 quired to win those wars. In late 1965, the USS 

20 Sculpin (SSN 590) became the first nuclear-powered 

21 submarine worked on at the Puget Sound Naval 

22 Shipyard. The Shipyard site at Naval Base Kitsap23 Bremerton provides longer-term, full-service mainte24 nance and inactivation and recycling work on airVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2860.IH H2860

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1 craft carriers, surface ships, and submarines, uti2 lizing six drydocks and adjacent piers. 

3 (6) On May 13, 1908, Navy Yard Pearl Harbor 

4 was officially established on the Hawaiian Island of 

5 Oahu, and the Navy Yard has proven to be vital to 

6 the defense of the United States and its interests in 

7 the Asia-Pacific region. The shipyard has been in8 strumental in enabling the United States to secure 

9 sea-lanes of communication and commerce that has 

10 strengthened the Nation’s ability to project power 

11 across the expansive Pacific and Indian Oceans. For 

12 generations, the shipyard has supported the global 

13 interests of the United States in a critical geo14 graphic region. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor 

15 and the Navy Yard at Pearl Harbor were the scene 

16 of a devastating attack on the United States by the 

17 Imperial Japanese Navy. Despite the devastating at18 tack, the shipyard and its workers were able to re19 turn ships damaged in the attack back into service 

20 and enabled the United States to win the Pacific 

21 War. For more than 113 years, the Pearl Harbor 

22 Naval Shipyard’s strategic location in the Pacific 

23 has assured the safety and prosperity of the United 

24 States through the maintenance of Navy ships. 

25 Today the shipyard supports the maintenance of the 


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1 Navy’s nuclear submarine fleet as well as surface 

2 ships. 

3 (7) In April 2013, the Navy provided Congress 

4 a public shipyard investment plan, which identified 

5 investments needed to optimize, improve, and rebuild 

6 shipyard facilities, electrical infrastructure, environ7 mental systems, and equipment, and needed to im8 prove the timely return of ships and submarines 

9 back to the fleet following maintenance and mod10 ernization, to support the combat readiness of the 

11 United States. To this end, the Navy developed the 

12 Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program, 

13 which is a comprehensive, 20-year, $21,000,000,000 

14 effort to modernize infrastructure at the four naval 

15 shipyards through— 

16 (A) performing critical dry dock repairs; 

17 (B) restoring and optimally placing ship18 yard facilities; and 

19 (C) replacing aging and deteriorating cap20 ital equipment. 

21 (8) In addition to the Nation’s public shipyards, 

22 the United States continues to rely on the capacity 

23 and capabilities of private new construction and re24 pair shipyards to meet the strategic maritime needs 

25 of the United States Navy, the United States Coast 


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1 Guard, and the Nation’s maritime industry. Such 

2 shipyards, located on every coast of the United 

3 States, also require substantial recapitalization and 

4 reconfiguration in order to meet the construction 

5 and sustainment requirements of our maritime Na6 tion. This Act recognizes the vital role such private 

7 shipyards play in the United States and accordingly 

8 authorizes and appropriates funds to ensure they are 

9 able to continue to provide those strategic capabili10 ties in the future. 

11 SEC. 3. NAVY SHIPYARD INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT. 

12 (a) APPROPRIATION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Out of any money in the 

14 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appro15 priated, there is appropriated, as an additional 

16 amount for ‘‘Defense Production Act Purchases’’, 

17 $25,000,000,000, to remain available until ex18 pended, to improve, in accordance with subsection 

19 (b) and using the authority provided by section 

20 303(e) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 

21 U.S.C. 4533(e)), the Navy shipyard infrastructure of 

22 the United States. 

23 (2) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts 

24 appropriated under paragraph (1) shall supplement 

25 and not supplant other amounts appropriated or 


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1 otherwise made available for the purpose described 

2 in paragraph (1). 

3 (3) WAIVER OF CERTAIN LIMITATIONS.—Dur4 ing the 10-year period beginning on the date of the 

5 enactment of this Act, the following requirements of 

6 the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 

7 4501 et seq.) shall not apply to amounts appro8 priated under paragraph (1): 

9 (A) The requirement for a determination 

10 of the President under section 303(e)(1) of that 

11 Act (50 U.S.C. 4533(e)(1)). 

12 (B) The requirement under section 304(e) 

13 of that Act (50 U.S.C. 4534(e)) that amounts 

14 in the Defense Production Act Fund in excess 

15 of the amount specified in that subsection be 

16 paid into the general fund of the Treasury at 

17 the end of a fiscal year. 

18 (4) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—The amount 

19 appropriated under paragraph (1) is designated by 

20 the Congress as being for an emergency requirement 

21 pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced 

22 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 

23 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)). 

24 (b) USE OF FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 of Defense shall make the amounts appropriated 

4 under subsection (a) directly available to the Sec5 retary of the Navy for obligation and expenditure. 

6 (2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary of 

7 the Navy shall allocate the amounts appropriated 

8 under subsection (a) as follows: 

9 (A) $21,000,000,000 for Navy public ship10 yard facilities, dock, dry dock, capital equip11 ment improvements, and dredging efforts need12 ed by such shipyards. 

13 (B) $2,000,000,000 for Navy private new 

14 construction shipyard facilities, dock, dry dock, 

15 capital equipment improvements, and dredging 

16 efforts needed by such shipyards. 

17 (C) $2,000,000,000 for Navy private re18 pair shipyard facilities, dock, dry dock, capital 

19 equipment improvements, and dredging efforts 

20 needed by such shipyards. 

21 (3) USE OF FUNDS FOR PROCUREMENT OF

22 CERTAIN SERVICES.—Notwithstanding any provision 

23 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 

24 4501 et seq.), amounts appropriated under sub25 section (a) may be used for the procurement of arVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2860.IH H2860

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1 chitect-engineer and construction services at Navy 

2 public shipyards. 

3 (4) PROJECTS IN ADDITION TO OTHER CON4 STRUCTION PROJECTS.—Construction projects un5 dertaken using amounts appropriated under sub6 section (a) shall be in addition to and separate from 

7 any military construction program authorized by any 

8 Act to authorize appropriations for a fiscal year for 

9 military activities of the Department of Defense and 

10 for military construction. 

11 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) NAVY PUBLIC SHIPYARD.—The term ‘‘Navy 

13 public shipyard’’ means the following: 

14 (A) The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia. 

15 (B) The Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, 

16 Hawaii. 

17 (C) The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, 

18 Maine. 

19 (D) The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, 

20 Washington. 

21 (2) NAVY PRIVATE NEW CONSTRUCTION SHIP22 YARD.—The term ‘‘Navy private new construction 

23 shipyard’’— 

24 (A) means any shipyard in which one or 

25 more combatant or support vessels included in 


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1 the most recent plan submitted under section 

2 231 of title 10, United States Code, are being 

3 built or are planned to be built; and 

4 (B) includes vendors and suppliers of the 

5 shipyard building or planning to build a com6 batant or support vessel. 

7 (3) NAVY PRIVATE REPAIR SHIPYARD.—The 

8 term ‘‘Navy private repair shipyard’’— 

9 (A) means any shipyard that performs or 

10 is planned to perform maintenance or mod11 ernization work on a combatant or support ves12 sel included in the most recent plan submitted 

13 under section 231 of title 10, United States 

14 Code; and 

15 (B) includes vendors and suppliers of the 

16 shipyard performing or planning to perform 

17 maintenance or modernization work on a com18 batant or support vessel. 

Æ 


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