Lovejoy-Rén Act

The Lovejoy-Rén Act—also known as the Naval Act of 2554—is the first of two laws named for Bernard Lovejoy and Mei Rén. The senators introduced the legislation on November 13, 2553 following the transfer of powers back to the UEG nine months prior which sought to increase the size of the to sixty-percent of its pre-war strength in order to replace the thousands of ships lost during the . The law is both a successor and expansion of the Naval Restoration Initiative of 2552 which was implemented by the Navy to bolster the numbers of the and in preparation for the defense of and . The law was supported by Admiral , the current and sponsored by Vice Admiral Allison Spurgeon who was recently appointed the new .
The law was enacted on May 29, 2554 setting in motion of events that would see the expansion of the UNSC Navy with the production of 996 ships. Four years later, the Navy received a fourth of that number, with the full order expected to be completed by 2564. Senator Lovejoy later sponsored another law on February 22, 2558, known as the Lovejoy-Jameson Act of 2558 which requested further funding for the Navy to increase the size of its fleet by an additional 650 ships by 2570 following the escalation of hostilities between a number of and factions. 
==History==
Following the ratification of an official with the in February 2553, the UNSC Navy recalled all remaining fleet assets back to Earth. While the operational capacity of the Navy was predicted to be significantly reduced, the reality was far worse than imagined. The bulk of humanity's post-war fleet had been reduced to less than eighty Gladius-class heavy corvettes. With most of the Navy's carriers and cruisers destroyed, humanity faced a dilemma that put every remaining human world in danger, including Earth if information on the Navy's weakened state were revealed to the galaxy.
With humanity left in an extremely vulnerable position, Naval Codes WHIPLASH and GOOSE CHASE were enacted on February 27. As per GOOSE CHASE, the and were deployed to the border regions of human space with the objective of monitoring Covenant remnant activities and transmitting falsified UNSC Navy fleet movements against potentially antagonistic naval groups encroaching on human territory. As a result, anybody listening in were made to believe that the UNSC Navy numbered far larger than it was in reality. While not totally effective against Covenant raids, GOOSE CHASE successfully established the UNSC "shadow fleet" on the frontier to divert hostile factions away from human colonies.
With the shadow fleet in place, the UNSC needed to move fast before their deception was put to the test and ultimately exposed. On November 1, 2553 Terrence Hood and other members of the met with Senators Bernard Lovejoy and Mei Rén, who co-chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee, to draw up plans and a budget for the reformation of the the , with priority directed toward the Navy. Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Allison Spurgeon and Fleet Admiral Joseph Harper had finalized their reorganization and consolidation of the Home Fleet with the Navy's remaining ships. Spurgeon provided their data to the committee on November 7, with Spurgeon presenting her analysis and counsel regarding the necessary composition needed by the reformed Navy to effectively defend human space.
In Spurgeon's report, the post-war Navy would prioritize the deployment of carriers and escorts to patrol border regions later designated as the Coordinated Defense SphereThe Coordinated Defense Sphere (CDS) is a region of human space consisting of a large concentration of Inner and Outer Colonies deemed to be at-risk of attack. The CDS is pivoted toward areas of space that are believed to contain hostile or suspicious remnant forces, and is constantly updated to ensure readiness levels remain high in the event of a major invasion of human space. As of 2558, fifty-percent of the Navy is deployed in this region. and the newly established . The report also laid out an increased emphasis on dedicated anti-ship vessels by recommending that production of Vindication-class light battleships and Artemis-class battlecruisers resume. The legislation was finalized days later and introduced to the UEG Senate on November 13. After a measly three minutes of debate, the law was passed unanimously and was enacted on May 29, 2554.
==Layout==
===Act of 2554===
Heeding recommendations set by the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, the Naval Act of 2554 placed emphasis on the production of carriers and anti-ship vessels to form the backbone of the new Navy. The law represented a staggering forty percent increase of naval tonnage, and is regarded as the UNSC's largest naval procurement in recent history. 
As of May 29, 2554 the Lovejoy-Rén Act authorized the production of 996 ships and additional funding for the manufacturing of munitions and expansion of naval facilities. The order is estimated to be completed by 2564.
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"	
*47 carriers
**22 Corinth-class assault carriers
**17 Poseidon-class light carriers
**5 Epoch-class heavy carriers
**2 Orion-class assault carriersOrders for the Orion-class were originally placed at 33, but were cancelled following the introduction of the the Corinth-class. These two would be the last of the Orion family before the class was retired in 2558.
**1 Punic-class supercarrier
*32 battleships
**32 Vindication-class light battleships
*6 battlecruisers
**4 Artemis-class battlecruisers
**2 Jannes-class battlecruisers
*37 cruisers
**16 Autumn-class light cruisers
**12 Marathon-class heavy cruisers
**9 Keating-class light cruisersConstruction of the Keating-class was delayed indefinitely after materials and manpower were increasingly prioritized for the production of carriers and escort vessels. These cruisers were eventually cancelled and replaced by the Triton-class in 2558.
*184 destroyers
**97 Halberd-class destroyers
**72 Hyperion-class destroyers
**15 Sun Tzu-class heavy destroyers	
*250 frigates
**79 Nevada-class heavy frigates
**66 Strident-class heavy frigates
**40 El Salvador-class assault frigates
**24 
**13 Qianliyan-class stealth frigates
**12 
**8 
**8 
*415 corvettes
**260 Gladius-class heavy corvettes
**115 Christchurch-class corvettes
**28 
**12 
*25 support ships
**25 Guardian-class mobile repair stations
*32,000 aircraft
*cR 250 million for facility maintenance and recruitment programs
*cR 660 million for manufacturing munitions and equipment
*cR 345 million for expansion of existing facilities
*cR 220 million for new facilities
:Credit listings are "special purpose" additions to the UNSC Navy's budget for FY 2554.
Category:Commonwealth Misc
Category:UNSC