,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gjj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #bb1 #bjai  
,mr4 ,conaway introduced the following  
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,armed ,services  ,a      
,,bill  ,to increase the number of      
operational aircraft carriers of the    
,navy1 and for other purposes4  #a4     
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the #ab ,carrier ,act4  #b4 ,findings   
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,the aircraft carrier can fulfill the   
,navy's core missions of forward        
presence1 sea control1 ensuring safe sea
 lanes1 and power projection as well as 
providing flexibility and versatility to
 execute a wide range of additional     
missions4  7#b7 ,forward airpower is    
integral to the security and joint      
forces operations of the ,united        
,states4 ,carriers play a central role  
in delivering forward airpower from     
sovereign territory of the ,united      
,states in both permissive and          

nonpermissive environments4  7#c7       
,aircraft carriers provide our ,nation  
the ability to rapidly and decisively   
respond to national threats1 as well as 
conducting worldwide1 on-station        
diplomacy and providing deterrence      
against threats to the ,united ,states  
allies1 partners1 and friends4  7#d7    
,since the end of the cold war1 aircraft
 carrier deployments have increased     
while the aircraft carrier force        
structure has declined4  7#e7           
,considering the increased array of     
complex threats across the globe1 the   
,navy aircraft carrier is operating at  
maximum capacity1 increasing deployment 
lengths and decreasing maintenance      
periods in order to meet operational    
requirements4  7#f7 ,to meet global     
peacetime and wartime requirements1 the 
,navy has indicated a requirement to    
maintain two aircraft carriers deployed 
overseas and have three additional      
aircraft carriers capable of deploying  
within #ij days4 ,however1 the ,navy has

 indicated that the existing aircraft   
carrier force structure cannot support  
these military requirements4  7#g7      
,despite the requirement to maintain an 
aircraft carrier strike group in both   
the ,united ,states ,central ,command   
and ,united ,states ,pacific ,command1  
the ,navy has been unable to generate   
sufficient capacity to support our      
combatant commanders and has developed  
significant carrier gaps in these       
critical areas4  7#h7 ,because of       
continuing use of a diminished aircraft 
carrier force structure1 extensive      
maintenance availabilities result which 
typically exceed program costs and      
increase time in shipyards4 ,these      
expansive maintenance availabilities    
exacerbate existing carrier gaps4  7#i7 
,because of maintenance overhaul        
extensions1 the ,navy is truncating     
basic aircraft carrier training to      
expedite the deployment of available    
aircraft carriers4 ,limiting aircraft   
carrier training decreases operational  

capabilities and increases sailor risk4 
7#aj7 ,the ,navy has adopted a two-phase
 acquisition strategy for the ,u4,s4,s4 
,john ,f4 ,kennedy 7,,cvn-#gi71 an      
action that will delay the introduction 
of this aircraft carrier by up to two   
years1 exacerbating existing carrier    
gaps4  7#aa7 ,developing an alternative 
design to the ,ford-class aircraft      
carrier is not cost beneficial4 ,a      
smaller design is projected to incur    
significant design and engineering cost 
while significantly reducing magazine   
size1 carrier air wing size1 sortie     
rate1 and on-station effectiveness among
 other vital factors when compared to   
the ,ford class4 ,furthermore1 a new    
design will delay the introduction of   
future aircraft carriers1 exacerbating  
existing carrier gaps and threatening   
the national security of the ,united    
,states4  #c4 ,increase in number of    
operational aircraft carriers of the    
,navy  7a7 ,increase ,section #hjfb7;b7 
of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 is 

amended by striking #aa operational     
aircraft carriers and inserting #ab     
operational aircraft carriers4  7b7     
,effective date ,the amendment made by  
subsection 7a7 shall take effect on     
,september #cj1 #bjbc4