Sponsors (5)
The bill keeps advanced carrier air capability on the East Coast and leverages existing base capacity to sustain readiness and faster response, but it requires sizable taxpayer and local investments and narrows future basing flexibility.
U.S. Navy carrier air wings and deployed military personnel on the East Coast keep fifth‑generation (F‑35C) strike capability, preserving readiness and deterrence against threats in the Atlantic theater.
Local governments and the regional workforce around NAS Oceana benefit because existing base infrastructure and skilled personnel can be used, reducing the need for major new construction or relocation expenses.
Service members and operations benefit from a geographically balanced basing posture on the East Coast, supporting faster deployments and improved response times for operations and exercises in the Atlantic theater.
Taxpayers face substantial additional costs to procure, equip, and base F‑35C squadrons at NAS Oceana, increasing defense procurement and basing expenditures.
Local communities and federal employees may experience disruption and short‑term strain because Oceana would need investments for training, infrastructure upgrades, and increased operational tempo.
Concentrating priority basing at Oceana could reduce strategic flexibility for where squadrons are positioned long term, complicating future force distribution and basing plans.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
States congressional findings supporting basing F‑35C carrier squadrons at NAS Oceana to preserve East Coast fifth‑generation capability and warns against consolidation at NAS Lemoore.
Expresses Congress’s view that Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana in Virginia Beach should host the Navy’s carrier-based F–35C squadrons to preserve East Coast fifth‑generation carrier strike capability. It warns that consolidating all F–35C squadrons at NAS Lemoore, California would leave the Atlantic Fleet without local fifth‑generation aircraft and strain logistics, and finds NAS Oceana has the facilities, airspace, nearby carrier ports, and workforce to support F–35C operations.
Official title: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia, should remain a critical component of the future carrier-based strike fighter capability of the Navy and receive F-35C squadrons as part of the modernization strategy of the Navy.
Introduced July 10, 2025 by Jennifer Kiggans · Last progress July 10, 2025