House committee approves defense spending bill with funds for ships built at BIW

Courtesy / Bath Iron Works An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer under construction at the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath. U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine District 1, announced Tuesday that the fiscal year 2020 defense spending bill approved by the full House Appropriations Committee includes funding for three DDG-51 destroyers — one and possibly two of which will be built at BIW.

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U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine District 1, announced Tuesday that the fiscal year 2020 defense spending bill approved by the full House Appropriations Committee includes funding for three DDG-51 destroyers — one and possibly two of which will be built at Bath Iron Works.

The bill also funds other construction projects at the Bath shipyard. The FY2020 defense spending now moves to the House floor for a vote in the coming weeks.

The FY2020 defense spending bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee includes:

$5.0 billion to build 3 DDG-51 destroyers
$224 million to build future DDG-51 destroyers
$156 million to build DDG-1000 destroyers
$1.3 billion to build the FFG(X) frigate, of which BIW is one of several bidders competing in the Navy’s new guided-missile frigate program, which initially was announced as a 20-ship program with an estimated value of $19 billion.

Since 2013, Pingree has served on the House Appropriations Committee. She previously served on the House Armed Services Committee.

“I’m pleased to once again join my colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee in advancing a defense spending plan that will secure shipbuilding work at BIW,” she said in a news release.