Committee Probes Acquisition Workforce, Contracting Practices and Civilian Cuts as Navy Seeks Faster Deliveries

House appropriators pressed Navy leaders on the department’s acquisition workforce size, contracting incentives and the impact of civilian personnel reductions on shipyard throughput and contract execution.

Secretary John Phelan told the committee the Navy has a large acquisition organization and said it currently handles an extensive volume of contracts: "In acquisitions alone, we have 56,000 people in our acquisitions department. Now, we did last year, 217,000 contracts. That's 34 contracts per person," he said, arguing the Department must rationalize roles and improve contracting quality.

Members expressed concern about planned civilian workforce reductions. Representative Rosa DeLauro, ranking member of the full Appropriations Committee, warned that losing about 16,000 civilian workers, including shipyard personnel, "will only lengthen the problems we are now seeing at these shipyards." Lawmakers cautioned that cuts can shift administrative burdens onto uniformed personnel and slow contract execution.

Phelan said the department plans to improve contracting terms to better align industry incentives, tighten intellectual property control and include penalties for poor performance. He described recent Virginia‑class contract negotiations as a move away from open cost‑plus arrangements toward more fixed‑price elements and incentives to share risk with industry.

Why it matters: Acquisition practices, contract structure and workforce composition directly affect how quickly the Navy can get ships and repairs back to sea. Committee members stressed they need timely briefings and transparency to exercise oversight over appropriations for shipbuilding and maintenance.

Officials committed to provide additional details to the committee on workforce impacts, contracting changes and how OMB and Defense leaders are coordinating funding and schedules.