Funding New Submarines Outside the Navy?

Newport News Shipbuilding has a stake in a new and potentially divisive method for funding a future class of submarine, a project considered the Navy's top priority.

At issue is how to replace the aging fleet of Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, often referred to as "boomers," which play an increasingly important role in America's ability to deliver a nuclear punch.

Replacing the Ohio-class fleet with new submarines has been deemed so important -- and so difficult to afford in tight fiscal times -- that Congress has proposed funding them outside the Navy's $15.7 billion annual shipbuilding budget.

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