NORFOLK, Va. — Ignoring the wishes of the White House and the Pentagon, lawmakers are pushing forward with preserving the Navy and Marine Corps' amphibious fleet.
Amphibious warfare ships are the centerpiece of the Navy-Marine Corps mission, playing critically essential roles in global operations, delivering Marines wherever they are needed to respond swiftly to crises anywhere in the world, from deterrence and major combat operations to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Today, the Navy has 31 amphibious ships — a number the Marine Corps considers the bare minimum it needs — but the Pentagon plans to shrink the fleet below that number under its fiscal year 2024 budget proposal.
But not if lawmakers get their way.
The House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee this week voted unanimously to block the Navy's plan to decommission three Whidbey Island-class docking landing ships.
The panel also authorized funding to build one San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock.
Committee member Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Virgiia, 1st District) says, dropping below 31 amphibious ships would be a mistake.
"We got in the law last year, the National Defense Authorization Act, our addition to that was to put in the law that the floor for amphibious ships is 31. That was our effort to make sure that we set those statutory floors to make sure we sent a clear signal to the Pentagon to say, you will not go any lower than this."
In an interview with 13News Now, Wittman said he was "livid" when he saw the Defense Department's proposal.
"And I think it's foolish to walk away from that capability," he said.
The full House and Senate Armed Services Committees are expected to complete their National Defense Authorization mark-ups --including provisions on sea power -- next week.