‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ To Boost U.S. Shipbuilding With $29Bn Investment

The U.S. Congress has passed a landmark bill, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” allocating $29 billion to revive the country’s shipbuilding and maritime industrial base. The package, backed by Donald Trump, was approved just before the White House’s requested July 4 deadline.

This legislative package is designed to improve America’s shipbuilding capabilities, mainly to support the U.S. Navy and strengthen national security. It includes new initiatives, heavy funding, and policy changes that aim to bring new life to the maritime industry, which has declined over the years.

The bill sets aside $29 billion in total for shipbuilding and the maritime industrial base. Most of this funding is focused on the Navy, whose shipbuilding projects have been running behind schedule. The Navy has also been dealing with repair delays, supply chain issues, and workforce shortages.

A total of $5 billion from the package is specifically dedicated to naval shipbuilding initiatives. Some of the major spending areas include:

• $250 million to speed up training programs for the defense manufacturing workforce.
• $750 million for developing suppliers in the naval shipbuilding supply chain.
• $250 million to bring in advanced manufacturing processes to the naval supply chain.
• $500 million to support additive manufacturing, a method not often used by private sector shipbuilders.
• $400 million to build a collaborative campus for naval shipbuilding.
• $500 million to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into naval shipbuilding processes.

Though the bill mainly targets Navy needs, some of its provisions may also help the struggling commercial shipbuilding sector. For example, it includes:

• $500 million for advanced manufacturing across the shipbuilding industrial base.
• $500 million for developing advanced shipbuilding techniques.
• $500 million to train workers for the wider maritime industry.

However, some experts believe the bill’s direct impact on commercial shipbuilding will be limited since the industry has declined significantly over the years.

The bill does not include funding for the next Constellation-class frigate hull, which was removed from the Navy’s 2026 budget request. Instead of this frigate, Congress decided to fund other programs, including:

• $1.8 billion for the U.S. Marine Corps’ Landing Ship Medium, a long-awaited vessel.
• $2.1 billion to develop and buy the Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV), which is a newer naval technology.

These programs had been seen as controversial in the past but received strong support under this package.

The bill also supports the creation of a new Office of Maritime and Industrial Capacity under the National Security Council in the White House. This follows earlier executive orders that called for a Maritime Action Plan to help rebuild America’s maritime industry.

Even with the large amount of funding, the U.S. shipbuilding sector is still struggling. The key issues include:

• A serious shortage of skilled labour;
• An aging workforce that is close to retirement;
• And the high cost of building ships in the U.S. compared to foreign shipyards.

Some critics have pointed out that while the bill gives strong support to Navy needs, it may not be enough to bring back large-scale commercial shipbuilding, which has shrunk over many decades.

Reference: US gov

Source: Maritime Shipping News