Congress, Icebreakers, and Foreign Production
Rep. Auchincloss asks an obvious question during a hearing of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
I almost missed this exchange from a hearing of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party from December 5th. The hearing, titled Rebuilding the Arsenal of Democracy: The Imperative to Strengthen America’s Defense Industrial Base and Workforce contained a notable exchange on icebreakers between Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) and Dr. William ‘Bill’ Greenwalt of the American Enterprise Institute (click on the above photo to watch the exchange):
Mr. Auchincloss: Sometimes we can buy it, we don't have to do everything on our own. That's the great part of having allies. Recently the Biden Administration announced the creation of the ICE, Icebreaker collaboration effort, the ice PACT. Briefly, should we be buying these icebreakers from Finland?
Dr. Greenwalt: I think we should be buying from wherever except the Communist Chinese.
Mr. Auchincloss: Yeah, the Finns are really good at building them, we're awful at building them
Dr. Greenwalt: The whole issue on buy America is important. We need the capabilities here in the United States to do a lot of things. But if we have solid allies who can produce capability and technology faster and cheaper than us, we should start buying from them
Mr. Auchincloss: Yes
Dr. Greenwalt: and then potentially transition some of those but in something like an icebreaker by the time we transition that we've already bought them.
I highlight this simply as another datapoint. When considered along with what came out of last month’s Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee Hearing, it may signal that there is something new going on regarding icebreakers in Washington, DC.
Then again, it could just be more of the same. Members of Congress have been expressing frustration over the U.S. Coast Guard’s shipbuilding- including the Polar Security Cutter program- for many years now.
The Department of Defense just released its annual report to Congress on China. The section on the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), starting on page 68, shows just how far behind the U.S. is in building Naval vessels. The gap in commercial production is even more alarming. There is a lot of ship building to be done. Working with allies and partners makes sense.
I’ll keep watching and reporting.
All the best,
PGR
h/t CG
Wow. There should be a giant flashing neon sign above Rep. Auchincloss "Common Sense in the Nation's Interest" ... this is what it looks like
I know that your focus is on Polar icebreakers, but have you considered digging into the Coast Guard's smaller ice breakers as well on the Great Lakes? It seems like there was some movement on the topic a few years ago. The Mackinaw and the smaller 140' ice breakers should all be due for recapitalization in the 2030's. As the article below suggests, the USCG might be able to acquire at least one "Great Lakes" icebreaker that is robust enough to work in the Arctic.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/craighooper/2021/09/12/congress-authorizes-a-great-lakes-icebreaker-the-coast-guard-doesnt-need/