Golden announced today that he will introduce an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to prohibit any funds from being used to produce American warships, or parts of warships, overseas.
Introduce an NDAA amendment to prohibit any funds from being used to produce American warships or parts of warships overseas.
Occurrences
Golden to introduce amendment to block Navy from offshoring American shipbuilding jobs
Evidence
The House Armed Services Committee markup tracker lists several Golden amendments that were agreed to by voice vote, including amendment 5211 (optional combat boots made in America) and amendment 5677 (incremental funding for a Guided Missile Destroyer). The document also shows Golden as a sponsor on other defense-industrial-base amendments.
Golden said he voted for the FY2026 NDAA and highlighted that the bill included funding for destroyer construction at Bath Iron Works, with no mention of a prohibition on overseas production of American warships or parts.
The committee announced the final negotiated FY26 NDAA text and said the legislation was substantially based on H.R. 3838 and S. 2296.
The official House Armed Services markup list shows Golden-sponsored amendments 5677, on incremental funding for a Guided Missile Destroyer, and 5211, on optional combat boots being made in America. The list does not show an amendment prohibiting funds for producing warships or warship parts overseas.
The committees' final FY26 NDAA text release created the negotiated vehicle in which any Golden amendment would have needed to appear. The release does not identify the claimed prohibition on overseas production of American warships or their parts.
The official House Armed Services Committee FY26 NDAA markup data lists Golden-sponsored amendments including LOG ID 5199 adding molybdenum to covered materials, LOG ID 5211 requiring optional combat boots to be made in America, and LOG ID 5677 authorizing incremental funding for a Guided Missile Destroyer. A search of the document found no matching text for "warship" and no Golden amendment described as prohibiting funds for producing American warships or parts overseas.
The same markup tracker shows Golden as a cosponsor on other defense-industrial-base items, including public shipyard hiring and contractor repair-material access amendments, while the document's only "overseas" match concerns government and diplomatic personnel travel, not warship production.
Congress.gov identifies H.Prt. 119-16 as the Rules Committee print showing the text of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. Searches of the official Congress.gov committee-print page for "warship," "overseas," and "foreign shipyard" returned no matching text.
Congress.gov records S.1071 as becoming Public Law No. 119-60 on December 18, 2025. Its summary says the bill sets FY2026 defense policies and includes acquisition and domestic sourcing provisions, but does not identify a Golden amendment or a prohibition on using funds to produce American warships or warship parts overseas.
Golden's office said he voted for the FY2026 NDAA, which included funding for destroyers built at Bath Iron Works and funding for two DDG-51 destroyers typically built by BIW. The release does not mention an amendment or provision barring overseas production of American warships or parts.
The House Clerk records Roll Call 320 on S.1071 as passed 312-112 on December 10, 2025, and lists Golden (ME) as voting Yea.
Assessments
Official FY2026 NDAA markup and final-text records show Golden was active on NDAA amendments related to domestic manufacturing and shipbuilding, including destroyer funding and made-in-America provisions, but they do not show the specific promised amendment prohibiting funds for overseas production of American warships or warship parts. The enacted NDAA and Golden's own release likewise do not identify that prohibition as introduced or adopted. This supports failed delivery with meaningful related legislative effort.
The promise was to introduce a specific NDAA amendment barring funds from being used to produce American warships or warship parts overseas. The strongest official record in the evidence is the House Armed Services Committee FY2026 NDAA amendment list, which shows several Golden-sponsored amendments on shipbuilding and domestic manufacturing but does not show the claimed prohibition amendment. Final FY2026 NDAA materials likewise do not identify such a provision. That supports the conclusion that Golden participated actively in the NDAA process, but did not deliver the specific promised action of introducing this amendment in the relevant term.
Available evidence shows Rep. Golden actively participated in the FY2026 NDAA amendment process and successfully offered other shipbuilding and Buy American-related amendments, which demonstrates meaningful effort. However, the record provided does not show that he introduced or secured adoption of the specific amendment to prohibit funds from being used to produce American warships or warship parts overseas, nor does the final FY26 NDAA evidence mention such a prohibition. Under the scoring rule, a serious legislative attempt without delivery is scored as never with an effort badge.