The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $1 billion toward the construction of an additional DDG-51 destroyer, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced Thursday. If the funding bill becomes law, the additional destroyer would likely be built at Bath Iron Works.

Collins, a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, requested the funding, according to a news release from her office.

“Our destroyers are the workhorses of the Navy, and I am proud of the highly skilled, hardworking men and women at Bath Iron Works who continue to deliver the highest quality ships for our nation’s sailors,” Collins said. “The power of presence cannot be taken for granted or ignored, which is why the investments for destroyers funded by this bill are so necessary.”

As of January, the Navy had 279 ships, well short of the goal set by the Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan that calls for the United States to have 304 ships by 2020, according to the release.

U.S. Sen. Angus King, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, successfully advocated for the authorization of incremental funding toward an additional DDG-51 destroyer last month.

“This $1 billion in additional shipbuilding appropriations is welcome news for BIW and helps move the shipyard closer to another destroyer contract,” King said in a statement Thursday. “I applaud Senator Collins for securing this provision in the 2016 Defense Appropriations Bill and will continue to work with her on behalf of the hardworking men and women at BIW.”

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The defense appropriations bill also provides funding for other programs that benefit Maine, including:

 $443 million toward the DDG-1000 program underway at BIW to bring advanced capabilities to the Navy fleet.

Language directing the Navy to induct classes of no fewer than 100 apprentices in the Naval Shipyard Apprentice Program at each of the four public naval shipyards, including at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery.

Increased funding for defense purchases, including $7.27 million for the construction of a Secure Hybrid Composite Container and the creation of a pilot production line in the United States. The University of Maine Composites Center, with funding from the Department of Homeland Security, has developed a shipping container in response to secure shipping guidelines.

$77.4 million toward the research and development of blast-resistant materials, which is being conducted in part by the University of Maine’s Composites Center.


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