III 117th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 533 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 3, 2022 Mr. Kaine (for himself and Mr. Warner ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services RESOLUTION Celebrating the centennial of Navy aircraft carriers.

Whereas 100 years ago, on March 20, 1922, following a 2-year conversion at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the former USS Jupiter (Collier #3) was recommissioned as USS Langley (CV–1), the first aircraft carrier of the Navy; Whereas USS Langley began as an experimental platform, laying the foundation for the future shipboard operations of aircraft; Whereas, in fleet exercises beginning in 1924, the USS Langley, appropriately nicknamed the Covered Wagon , demonstrated the potential of the aircraft carrier as an invaluable weapons system that would transform how the Navy fought at sea; Whereas, for the past 100 years, aircraft carriers have been the preeminent power projection platform for the Navy and have furthered United States interest in times of war and peace; Whereas, from the great naval battles in the Pacific Ocean during World War II to strike and close air support missions in the battlegrounds of the Korean Peninsula and Vietnam, the execution of joint force operations over the sands of the Middle East, and present-day deterrence in numerous locations around the world, aircraft carriers have proven time and again that they invaluable in supporting the strategic goals of the United States; Whereas, with an unequaled ability to provide warfighting capabilities across the full spectrum of conflict and to adapt in the face of ever-changing threats, aircraft carriers and their embarked air wings and associated strike groups are the foundation of United States maritime strategy; Whereas aircraft carriers enable the Armed Forces to carry out operations from international waters, often obviating the need to obtain flyover and land-based rights from other countries; Whereas Nimitz and Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers are modern, mobile military bases each complete with an airfield, a hospital, and a hardened communications system from which the United States can strike at enemies, wherever and whenever it chooses; Whereas there are more than 2,450 companies in 48 States and more than 364 congressional districts and more than 13,100 individuals, who proudly contribute to the construction and maintenance of these complex and technologically advanced ships; and Whereas countless members of the Armed Forces have served the United States aboard aircraft carriers in war, peace, and times of crisis: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1) recognizes that aircraft carriers continue to be a cornerstone of the Navy and play a vital role in the defense of the United States; (2) acknowledges that, in a time of great power competition that the world has not seen for over 30 years, aircraft carriers will continue to be an absolutely vital strategic platform that the United States can wield to ensure security and stability throughout the world, now and well into the future; (3) in this 100th year since USS Langley (CV–1) was commissioned at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, recognizes the role aircraft carriers have played in securing peace for the United States and the continuing role aircraft carriers will play in maintaining peace and security for the United States; and (4) celebrates the centennial of Navy aircraft carriers.