WASHINGTON — House Armed Services Committee members slammed the Navy's 2021 budget request that cuts shipbuilding by $4.1 billion, which would reduce the Virginia Class attack submarine buy that year by 50 percent.
"You talked about getting to 355 [vessels] by 2030. That is an impossible task based on the current pace," said Rep. Rob Witman (R-Virginia, 1st District).
Chairman Adam Smith questioned the Navy's ability to get to 355 ships if an additional $3.8 billion is cut from this year's budget to pay for the border wall.
He asked Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, "How do those things impact your ability to meet those goals?"
Modly replied, "To be frank, it's not helpful because it takes a ship out of a plan we're driving toward. It's particularly harmful in the sense that it takes a ship out of a category of ship for which we're going to have a hard time getting to anyway."
The Navy's top admiral defended the cuts, saying it's vital that before building any new ships, the current 295 ships are maintained properly.
"In order to come to this committee and ask for more money for a larger fleet, we need to make sure we can maintain and sustain the fleet that we have," said Admiral Mike Gilday.
Also under fire is the Navy's FY21 proposed 0.4 percent reduction to sexual assault prevention and response.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-California) asked, "How can you cut that budget when we have an epidemic on our hands?"
Modly responded, "Ma'am, I don't know the specifics in terms of how much we cut that budget, but I have been extremely committed to fighting sexual assault and harassment in the service."
Later, following an inquiry from 13News Now, Modly's spokesman, LCDR Derrick Ingle said, "The Department of the Navy is committed to keeping every Sailor and Marine safe from sexual assault. The total dollars requested in PB21 decreased from $332,000 (0.4%) from what was enacted in FY20, but increased by $633,000 (0.7%) from what was requested in FY20. The change was due to a change in the mix of personnel --from more expensive to less expensive (the number of people went up even though the requested amount went down). The DoN has increased both end-strength as well as overall operational dollars in the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) program in the PB21 budget.”