A key congressional committee has signed off on an additional destroyer like those built at Bath Iron Works for the upcoming fiscal year.
The House Armed Services Committee approved an extra $37 billion in spending in an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine.
That includes $1.2 billion in funding for a third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and $250 million for shipyard infrastructure upgrades.
“We need only look to world events in Ukraine, read reports regarding China’s plans and actions in the South China Sea, or simply read the latest headlines about Iranian nuclear ambitions and North Korean missile tests, as well as ongoing terrorist threats, in order to see why this additional funding is necessary,” Golden said.
The full House has yet to vote.
In the Senate, the Armed Services Committee has included a multi-year purchase of destroyers, but there’s funding for only two destroyers in the next fiscal year.
Bath Iron Works is currently in the final year of its previous multi-year procurement agreement with the Navy.
