American Shipbuilding Association

DATE: December 15, 2006                           

CONTACT: Cynthia L. Brown

PHONE: 202-544-8170

  Industry Supports U.S. Build Laws

 (Washington, D.C.) – On November 28, 2006, during the American Shipbuilding Association’s (ASA) annual convention in Naples, Florida, a resolution was adopted at the business meeting reaffirming the shipbuilding industry’s support of U.S. build laws to maintain a vibrant domestic defense shipbuilding industrial base.  

The American Shipbuilding Association encourages the 110^th Congress to support the nation’s shipbuilding defense industrial base by enforcing Department of Defense acquisition laws requiring that ships and their major components for all branches of the Armed Forces be built in the United States. By supporting these laws, Congress can preserve critical facilities and the high skilled jobs necessary to building ships for our national defense. The resolution adopted by the industry reads as follows;  

Whereas continued, low rates of ship production have resulted in the loss of vital companies that make up the defense shipbuilding manufacturing base, have forced the layoff of thousands of highly skilled workers, and have weakened the financial health of the industry;

Whereas the present state of the industry hampers facility investments, the ability to attract and retain new employees, and puts at risk the Nation’s sovereign ability to design and build ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard;

Be it resolved that industry will urge the 110^th Congress to maintain and enforce laws requiring public vessels and their major components to be manufactured in the United States, and to expand the use of contract incentive clauses by the Government to facilitate greater facility investments.

The shipbuilding industrial base resolution was passed along with a second resolution supporting the Chief of Naval Operations’, Michael G. Mullen, fiscal year 2008 budget of $14.1 billion for new ship procurement. Both resolutions passed unanimously.

The American Shipbuilding Association is the national trade association of the shipbuilding industry. ASA members include the nation’s largest shipyards and more than 70 companies engaged in the manufacture of ship systems and components.