Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Senate subcommittee: U.S. shipbuilding repeatedly late and over budget; GAO urges tougher business cases
Summary
At a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Sea Power oversight hearing, committee leaders, Navy officials and a Government Accountability Office witness described persistent schedule and cost problems in U.S. surface shipbuilding and urged changes in acquisition practice, design maturity and industrial-base investment.
Senator Tim Scott, chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Sea Power, opened a hearing on the Navy's conventional surface shipbuilding program by laying out what he called a crisis of delivery and cost: “In the last 5 years, 41 ships were delivered to the navy. Of those 41 ships, only 4 were delivered on time and on budget. It's 9.7%,” he said.
The hearing brought testimony from three witnesses: Dr. Brett Seidl, acting assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition; Vice Adm. James Downey, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA); and Shelby Oakley, director for contracting and national security acquisitions at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Each witness acknowledged chronic problems but described different priorities and fixes. “Simply…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
