Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) questioned senior defense officials in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on maintaining and optimizing the nation’s ship and submarine fleet. Shaheen asked U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Thomas Moore if the Multi-Mission Dry Dock project at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY), is still on track to be submitted in the Trump administration’s FY21 budget request. Vice Admiral Moore confirmed that it was, stating that the project is a “key component of our overall strategy.” During the hearing and following a report from the Government Accountability Office on the need for improvements at our nation’s shipyards, including PNSY, Shaheen spoke of the need to expand the industrial supply base that builds new vessels and provides replacement parts, noting that during the Cold War, the U.S. submarine fleet “…had over 17,000 suppliers, now we have about 3,500 active suppliers.” Shaheen questioned senior defense officials on the U.S. Navy’s status on implementing its Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan, which is vital to rebuild and maintain critical shipyard infrastructure where the nation’s submarines and aircraft carriers are constructed and repaired.
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