Today, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and his Republican colleagues from the Senate Armed Services Committee urged President Trump to implement the Shipbuilder Accountability and Workforce Support (SAWS) proposal. The proposal aims to boost domestic nuclear shipbuilding, involving significant engagement with Austal USA in Mobile. This plan had previously been turned down by the Biden administration, despite its potential to become the most extensive shipbuilding initiative in U.S. history.
The senators stated, “SAWS consolidates over $100 billion in past and future submarine contracts into a coordinated negotiation.” They highlighted the proposal’s capacity to optimize leverage and secure industry concessions that single negotiations might not achieve. The plan proposes using unspent funds to provide immediate pay raises for 45,000 shipbuilders, increase nuclear submarine production, and allocate $5.7 billion from the last continuing resolution to bolster the Office of Shipbuilding. This initiative is seen as a means to attract innovative tech firms to the maritime industrial base. “A potential repayment of $5 to $8 billion arises only decades later if nuclear shipbuilding is shut down,” they noted, discussing the long-term financial implications of the deal. They concluded by stating that this would result in a “stronger Navy, a thriving workforce, and support the reindustrialization of America.”
Under the SAWS proposal, attack submarine production would double from the current rate of 1.2 per year to two per year. Additionally, it would increase the earnings of 45,000 blue-collar shipbuilders. Senator Tuberville, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Personnel, has consistently supported strengthening the U.S. Navy, particularly as China’s shipbuilding capacity continues to grow rapidly.
The full letter from the senators to President Trump has been made available.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama and is also part of the Senate Committees on Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging.
