# 119-hr-4951: Ensuring Naval Readiness Act

119-hr-4951, Ensuring Naval Readiness Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Kennedy, Mike [R-UT-3] (R-UT); status introduced (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4951
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-4951
- Congress: 119
- Title: Ensuring Naval Readiness Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-08-12
- Sponsor: Rep. Kennedy, Mike [R-UT-3] (R-UT)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**A conditional exception to the prohibition on constructing naval vessels in foreign shipyards.** This bill would allow the Navy to build ships or major hull or superstructure components overseas when allied yards meet cost and ownership tests and Congress is notified. - Navy and Defense procurement: Grants the Secretary of the Navy the ability to contract foreign shipyards for naval vessels or major components when the foreign yard is in a NATO country or an Indo‑Pacific mutual defense partner and is cheaper than domestic construction. - U.S. shipbuilders: Introduces new competitive pressure on domestic yards because lower-cost allied shipyards could win work that otherwise would be built in the United States. - Allied shipyards and partner nations: Opens potential contracts to shipyards in qualifying partner countries when they offer lower costs. - Security and oversight: Before any foreign-yard work could begin the Secretary would have to certify to Congress that the shipyard is not owned or operated by a Chinese company or a multinational domiciled in the People’s Republic of China.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Limited use of allied shipyards for Navy: mixed, medium. If enacted, the Navy could build a ship or major hull parts in some foreign shipyards. The yard would need to be in a NATO country or in an Indo-Pacific treaty ally. The foreign build would have to cost less than building in a U.S. yard. Before work starts, the Secretary of the Navy would have to c…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-6955: Main Street Capital Access Act
- 119-hr-471: Fix Our Forests Act
- 119-hr-7613: ALERT Act
- 119-hr-7578: TORCH Act
- 119-hr-5351: NSF AI Education Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4706: Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-4951 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4951)

## Related
- [119-hr-6955: Main Street Capital Access Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6955)
- [119-hr-471: Fix Our Forests Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-471)
- [119-hr-7613: ALERT Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7613)
- [119-hr-7578: TORCH Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7578)
- [119-hr-5351: NSF AI Education Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5351)
- [119-hr-4706: Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4706)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4951 (as of 2026-04-21).