The United States Congress opposed increased military expenditures in 1940
On June 18, 1940, as French resistance to the Germans drew to a close in Europe, the US House of Representatives passed the Vinson-Walsh Act. The massive spending bill authorized the construction of the ships needed to build a two-ocean Navy. Unbelievable as it may seem today, Congress passed the bill unanimously in a vote of 316-0. Under the terms of the bill, the United States Navy was authorized to expand its combat strength by 70%, adding 257 ships. Although the bill authorized 2 Iowa class and 5 Montana class battleships (the Montana’s were never built) it leaned heavily toward the development of carrier warfare. Eighteen aircraft carriers, 27 cruisers, and 115 destroyers, the latter two needed to support carrier task groups, were scheduled for construction. Representative Carl Vinson, the bill’s sponsor, offered an opinion not wholly supported by the senior leadership of the US Navy.
“The carrier, with destroyers, cruisers, and submarines grouped around it is the spearhead of all modern naval task forces”, Vinson wrote in defense of his bill. The act also called for an additional 15,000 naval aircraft, including fighters, bombers, torpedo planes, transport planes, and reconnaissance aircraft. The passage of Vinson-Walsh and subsequent ramp-up of shipbuilding made clear the United States faced a crisis, which included a naval war in the Pacific. It also forced the Japanese to reevaluate their timetable for seizing the oil-rich East Indies and the rubber plantations of Malaya. Japan’s naval leadership was well-aware they could not match the industrial output of the United States. Any war with the Americans required an early, devastating victory, followed by rapid conquests and a negotiated peace. Planning to implement the new strategy began in late 1940.