REPORTS ON NAVAL SURFACE FIRE-SUPPORT CAPABILITIES.

SEC. 1015. REPORTS ON NAVAL SURFACE FIRE-SUPPORT CAPABILITIES. (a) Navy Report.— (1) Not later than March 31, 1999, the Secretary of the Navy shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives a report on battleship readiness for meeting requirements of the Armed Forces for naval surface fire support. (2) The report shall contain the following:112 STAT. 2119 (A) The reasons for the Secretary’s failure to comply with the requirements of section 1011 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 (Public Law 104–106; 110 Stat. 421) until February 1998. (B) The requirements for specialized air-naval gunfire liaison units. (C) The plans of the Navy for retaining and maintaining 16-inch ammunition for the main guns of battleships. (D) The plans of the Navy for retaining the hammerhead crane essential for lifting battleship turrets. (E) An estimate of the cost of reactivating Iowa-class battleships for listing on the Naval Vessel Register, restoring the vessels to seaworthiness with operational capabilities necessary to meet requirements for naval surface fire-support, and maintaining the battleships in that condition for continued listing on the register, together with an estimate of the time necessary to reactivate and restore the vessels to that condition. (F) An assessment of the short-term costs and the longterm costs associated with alternative methods for executing the naval surface fire-support mission of the Navy, including the alternative of reactivating two battleships. (3) The Secretary shall act through the Director of Expeditionary Warfare Division (N85) of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in preparing the report. (b) GAO Report.— (1) The Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives a report on the naval surface fire-support capabilities of the Navy. (2) The report shall contain the following: (A) An assessment of the extent of the compliance by the Secretary of the Navy with the requirements of section 1011 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 (Public Law 104–106; 110 Stat. 421). (B) The plans of the Navy for executing the naval surface fire-support mission of the Navy. (C) An assessment of the short-term costs and the longterm costs associated with the plans. (D) An analysis of the assessment required under subsection (a)(2)(F).