Bill Summary
The "12 Carrier Act" is a proposed bill in the United States aimed at increasing the number of operational aircraft carriers in the Navy. This would involve amending Section 8062(b) of title 10, United States Code to change the number of operational aircraft carriers from 11 to 12. The Act acknowledges the vital role of aircraft carriers in fulfilling the Navy's missions of forward presence, sea control, and power projection. It also recognizes the increased deployment and maintenance demands on the current aircraft carrier force structure. To address these challenges, the Act aims to add an additional carrier to the fleet in order to meet global peacetime and wartime requirements. The Act also highlights the negative impact of existing carrier gaps and the risks of truncating carrier training. It argues against developing a new, smaller aircraft carrier design, stating that it would be cost-prohibitive and less effective than the current Ford-class design. The amendment would take effect in 2023.
Possible Impacts
1. Increased military presence and operations: The passing of this legislation may result in an increase in the number of aircraft carriers, which could lead to a higher military presence in certain regions and an increase in military operations. This could potentially affect people living in those areas as well as their daily lives.
2. Job opportunities: The increase in the number of operational aircraft carriers may also lead to an increase in job opportunities within the Navy. This could benefit people looking for employment in the military or those who have family members serving in the Navy.
3. National security and defense: The purpose of this legislation is to strengthen the Navy's ability to respond to national threats and maintain peace and security. This could potentially affect people's sense of safety and protection as well as their trust in the government's ability to defend the country.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 700 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 700
To increase the number of operational aircraft carriers of the Navy,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 22, 2019
Mr. Conaway introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To increase the number of operational aircraft carriers of the Navy,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``12 Carrier Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The aircraft carrier can fulfill the Navy's core
missions of forward presence, sea control, ensuring safe sea
lanes, and power projection as well as providing flexibility
and versatility to execute a wide range of additional missions.
(2) Forward airpower is integral to the security and joint
forces operations of the United States. Carriers play a central
role in delivering forward airpower from sovereign territory of
the United States in both permissive and nonpermissive
environments.
(3) Aircraft carriers provide our Nation the ability to
rapidly and decisively respond to national threats, as well as
conducting worldwide, on-station diplomacy and providing
deterrence against threats to the United States allies,
partners, and friends.
(4) Since the end of the cold war, aircraft carrier
deployments have increased while the aircraft carrier force
structure has declined.
(5) Considering the increased array of complex threats
across the globe, the Navy aircraft carrier is operating at
maximum capacity, increasing deployment lengths and decreasing
maintenance periods in order to meet operational requirements.
(6) To meet global peacetime and wartime requirements, the
Navy has indicated a requirement to maintain two aircraft
carriers deployed overseas and have three additional aircraft
carriers capable of deploying within 90 days. However, the Navy
has indicated that the existing aircraft carrier force
structure cannot support these military requirements.
(7) Despite the requirement to maintain an aircraft carrier
strike group in both the United States Central Command and
United States Pacific Command, the Navy has been unable to
generate sufficient capacity to support our combatant
commanders and has developed significant carrier gaps in these
critical areas.
(8) Because of continuing use of a diminished aircraft
carrier force structure, extensive maintenance availabilities
result which typically exceed program costs and increase time
in shipyards. These expansive maintenance availabilities
exacerbate existing carrier gaps.
(9) Because of maintenance overhaul extensions, the Navy is
truncating basic aircraft carrier training to expedite the
deployment of available aircraft carriers. Limiting aircraft
carrier training decreases operational capabilities and
increases sailor risk.
(10) The Navy has adopted a two-phase acquisition strategy
for the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), an action that will
delay the introduction of this aircraft carrier by up to two
years, exacerbating existing carrier gaps.
(11) Developing an alternative design to the Ford-class
aircraft carrier is not cost beneficial. A smaller design is
projected to incur significant design and engineering cost
while significantly reducing magazine size, carrier air wing
size, sortie rate, and on-station effectiveness among other
vital factors when compared to the Ford class. Furthermore, a
new design will delay the introduction of future aircraft
carriers, exacerbating existing carrier gaps and threatening
the national security of the United States.
SEC. 3. INCREASE IN NUMBER OF OPERATIONAL AIRCRAFT CARRIERS OF THE
NAVY.
(a) Increase.--Section 8062(b) of title 10, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``11 operational aircraft carriers'' and inserting
``12 operational aircraft carriers''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
take effect on September 30, 2023.
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