The Tribune News Service reports that “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.”