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Richard Blumenthal To Pentagon Officials: Will Tariffs Increase Cost Of Nuclear Submarine Construction?
Forbes Breaking News
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4/15/2025
During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) spoke about the potential cost increases from President Trump's tariffs on nuclear submarine construction.
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00:00
Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all for being here today. Thank you for your testimony
00:05
and your service to our nation. I want to begin on submarines. I was at the commissioning
00:12
of the Iowa on Saturday. As always, with all the commissionings and christenings, a stirring
00:24
and moving event, and a tribute to the great workforce at EB. I was talking to Mark Reha.
00:32
I'm sure you're familiar with him. He seemed pretty optimistic about the progress on hiring
00:43
enough of the skilled workforce that are necessary in the thousands. Is that your assessment as
00:49
well, Rear Admiral Rucker? Thanks for the question, sir, and good to see
00:53
you again. Good seeing you at the Iowa on Saturday. I will applaud you for being able to make
00:57
it up there given your schedule, I know. Yes, sir, I would agree. From 2022 to 2023, we saw
01:04
across both shipbuilders about a 41% increase in their hiring. And in 2024, they pretty much
01:10
met their goals. Our challenge now is to continue to work with them on their attrition. Those
01:15
rates have come down since 2022. However, they're still higher than they need to be, especially
01:21
in the one to two-year workforce range. And so that's an effort that we are working together
01:26
with them to address. Is there anything you would recommend
01:30
our doing in the NDAA to make possible or make more likely that workforce, meeting that
01:40
workforce challenge? Yes, sir. There are multiple things that we're doing, so I appreciate the
01:44
question. I would say the workforce is one of the number one things that is needed to be able
01:50
to build the submarines and aircraft carriers. Wages is one of the top things, and so I appreciate
01:54
Congress's continued support and the funding that came in, the emergency supplemental, the
01:59
$5.7 billion of that. About $520 million of that is specifically to go after wages on current
02:04
contracts across all three of our programs. And that's something, as we move forward, we
02:09
can hopefully be able to continue to do that so we can pay the people that do the work what
02:14
they should earn and deserve to earn. They're in the midst or they're beginning contract
02:20
negotiations with a number of their unions, I believe, and I think that's very important
02:25
to meet the goals and challenges of their workers in an era of rising prices and possibly even higher
02:34
prices in the future.
02:37
Let me ask you, if I may, on the subject of cost, both the Columbia class and the Virginia class
02:45
programs depend on nuclear-grade skill, high-yield steel alloys, other kinds of extremely specialized
02:56
materials coming from a supply base that has shrunk over the last few years, I think in the 1980s
03:05
there were 17,000 suppliers, today they're around 5,000. Will tariffs impact the costs of producing
03:17
our nuclear submarines?
03:19
Senator, thank you for that question. As I'm sure you're aware, you know, the vast
03:26
majority of the components that go, you know, certainly into the Columbia class but also
03:30
the Virginia class are American-made components. You know, the Navy anticipates that there may
03:36
be some cost increases associated with tariffs, however, it's really too early to be able to
03:42
assess what those might be.
03:44
I'm sorry, maybe it's going to be up to the suppliers to determine what the...
03:50
No, sir. I mean, the Navy, you know, we have worked together with industry to evaluate what
03:56
the, you know, as costs change and go up or go down depending on what market you're talking
04:01
about. Again, it's all sort of rides, you know, all the things we procure for the, you know,
04:04
certainly in the commodity space like steel and things like that really do ride on kind
04:09
of what the market is, right? So as the things sort of ebb and flow, our ability to work together
04:15
with industry to be able to evaluate what the impact would be to our program specifically.
04:19
So we really don't know at this point?
04:21
We do not know, yes, sir.
04:22
Let me ask you, what is the timetable for the Columbia currently being constructed and
04:33
the next two, if you can tell us?
04:36
Yes, sir. So Leadship District of Columbia right now, we are projecting it to be 12 to
04:42
18 months late to contract. However, we're taking action right now to accelerate and recover as
04:49
much schedule as we possibly can. The second ship, Wisconsin, is currently on schedule.
04:54
So we're on schedule to deliver that ship at the 80-month contract. The next five ships,
05:00
we're really in the early construction phase of those, so we have not yet, we're not in a
05:04
position yet to be able to evaluate where they are relative to the delivery schedule. However,
05:09
all the activities that we have going on right now are all on track.
05:12
So just to be more precise, the Columbia will be ready in about 2027?
05:20
Sir, it'll be closer to 2029.
05:22
2029?
05:23
Yes, sir.
05:24
And the next, the Wisconsin, what year?
05:27
Sir, Wisconsin will deliver in 2032.
05:32
2032?
05:33
Yes, sir.
05:34
And the one after that, the Groton?
05:36
So that, sir, would be in 2034.
05:41
2034.
05:42
Sure.
05:43
Let me, I'm, I recognize I'm out of time, Mr. Chairman. Maybe if we have a second round
05:50
and I can stay, I'll come back with more questions. Thank you.
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