§2218a National Sea-based Deterrence Fund

Summary

Creates a National Sea‑Based Deterrence Fund in the U.S. Treasury and gives the Secretary of Defense responsibility for running it. The Fund must be used only to design, build, buy, change, or convert national sea‑based deterrence vessels. All Department of Defense money appropriated for those ship purposes must go into the Fund. Money deposited there generally must be obligated within five years after the end of the fiscal year for which it was appropriated, unless another law says otherwise. The Secretary of the Navy can use Fund money for certain contracting tools to save money and keep steady production. These include economic order quantity contracts, advance construction work before a ship is formally authorized, incrementally funded contracts for long‑lead high‑value items and for construction of the first two Columbia class submarines, and multiyear contracts for critical components to support continuous production. Every contract must state that payments depend on the money Congress actually provides and that the government’s liability if a contract is ended is limited to the amount already obligated. Budget requests to Congress for the Fund must list separately amounts for construction, design, purchase, alteration, and conversion of these vessels. Definitions: Fund — the National Sea‑Based Deterrence Fund; national sea‑based deterrence vessel — a DoD‑owned or controlled submersible built or bought after fiscal year 2016 that carries operational intercontinental ballistic missiles; critical component — key ship parts (for example, missile compartment parts, valves, pumps, tubes, hull and propulsion pieces, and other major systems).