WASHINGTON — Navy Secretary Gordon England met Monday with Maine's congressional delegation as the region's lawmakers try to prevent the closure of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery and the Brunswick Naval Air Station. The meeting was closed to the public, and England could make no decisions concerning base closures. But lawmakers from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts stressed the Kittery yard's ability to routinely repair submarines faster and cheaper than the Navy expected.

"The Navy can't afford to jeopardize its low-cost producer," said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a member of the Armed Services Committee.

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, who hosted England in her offices, said the meeting offered an opportunity to reinforce the value of the "spectacular yard" in Kittery and the geographic value of Brunswick, the last naval air base in the Northeast.

"I think he indicated he understood the depth of our concern," Snowe said.

Lawmakers also focused on the particular value of the two bases. For example, U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, cited Portsmouth's nuclear license as difficult to replace if the yard were closed.

"The best yard should not be the first to close," Allen said.

Although the meeting didn't lead to decisions, U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, echoed others in saying that England appeared responsive to the pleas to keep the bases open.

"I think it went very well," Michaud said. "I think we got a pretty good hearing. Hopefully, it will work out well."

The meeting occurred as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld assembles a list recommending closure of perhaps one-fourth of the country's 425 military bases. He'll release his list by May 16, which is why Maine base advocates are working aggressively now.

The list will be reviewed by a presidential commission, which will make recommendations to President Bush by Sept. 8. Bush could reject the list and ask the commission for revisions by Oct. 20. Congress will have 45 days after he accepts a list to either reject the entire list or let the bases close.

England and other officials have toured the bases in recent months to familiarize themselves with the facilities. New England lawmakers have written 20 letters in the past two years promoting the bases to military officials. Staffers for lawmakers have met more than 50 times to organize support.

Military analysts consider both Maine bases vulnerable to closure because they have been geared to fight the Cold War, with Portsmouth repairing U.S. submarines and Brunswick aircraft chasing enemy subs.

Bush's latest budget proposes to cut submarine construction in half.

The loss of the bases would hurt Maine's economy. Portsmouth employs 4,800 workers with a payroll of $318 million. Brunswick has more than 5,200 workers earning $147 million.

But because the communities surrounding all military bases are expected to emphasize the economic loss they would suffer, advocates are promoting the military value and flexibility of their bases. For example, Brunswick planes are flying over Iraq and Afghanistan and could help protect the country against airborne weapons heading for U.S. shores, lawmakers said.

From 1995 to 2004, Portsmouth stacks up well against the other three government shipyards, according to figures that Collins collected.

One type of submarine overhaul takes 24.5 months at Portsmouth, compared with an average of 28.6 months at the other three yards. The average cost at Portsmouth was $234 million, compared with a $320 million average at the other yards.

Despite the performance, the Navy workload at the Kittery yard is projected to drop 29 percent through 2020, while another yard would lose only 15 percent of its work and the two others would lose 1 percent to 2 percent.

"We don't want any decisions made that could trip the wire and hurt the base's position," Snowe said.