WEEKLY SENATE UPDATE

WE NEED A MULTIPLE ACQUISITION STRATEGY FOR DD(X) DESTROYERS

Maine has a long and proud Naval tradition.  Our Navy is the best in the world due in no small part to ships produced right here in Maine. In order to continue to defend our homeland and protect our nation’s interests on the high seas, the Navy must continue to design, engineer and build the caliber of ships we need.

Maine’s Bath Iron Works (BIW) is our nation’s premier shipbuilder and prides itself on the contributions that it has made to naval construction and design.  “Bath Built is Best Built” is an absolute truism because of BIW’s talented and dedicated workforce.  Since the 1893 construction of the gunboat USS Machias, the shipbuilders and engineers of Maine have built the most capable ships in the world. Since the 1950’s, BIW’s dedication to excellence has made them the lead shipbuilder for ten Navy ship classes, more than any other shipyard. 

The DD(X) is the next generation of Naval destroyer and BIW is one of only two shipyards that will build this ship. It will play an integral role in ensuring that we have a robust Navy for not only the present but well into the future.  Unfortunately, the Navy has undertaken a very troubling course. They have proposed significantly reducing the number of destroyers built from 11 over five years to 5 over five years, while altering the acquisition strategy for the DD(X) destroyer moving from two shipyards to one.  I can not say more strongly how opposed I am to this sea change in policy that has occurred at the Navy - all for the stated reason of keeping down budgets at the Pentagon overall.  We should not mortgage our future security for the sake of the bottom line.  In a changed post-September 11^th world, this would be disastrous.  We need a robust Navy to project our nation’s full power where we need it. 

If anyone has any question of the need for a robust Navy with sufficient surface combatants, then look no further than the People’s Republic of China.  China is rapidly expanding its Navy faster than any other nation on earth.  Their continued military expansion has raised alarm bells around the world.  And rightly so.  China is an economic superpower on the precipice of becoming a military superpower. This does not mean to say that a confrontation with China is going to happen, what it does indicate, however, is the need for prudence to ensure that we continue to support the Navy now, so we can be prepared for the future.  After all, it takes years to design and build this next generation of surface combatants – any delay would be ill-advised. This international reality is precisely why I am so vehemently opposed to the severe cutbacks in production of the DD(X) and the winner-take-all competition between the two remaining shipyards in Maine and Mississippi.

Let’s look at the recompetition of the two yards – it would not only be devastating to the entire Bath community, but to our Navy and indeed our nation.   We need two shipyards – one yard leaves our nation exposed to unnecessary risk, delays completion of the DD(X) and would reduce our already drastically cut Naval industrial base.   This instability in the DDX program at this time would exacerbate an exodus of skilled men and women from the last remaining shipyards that produce our naval fleet.  And would imperil our ability to produce the number surface combatants.

Changing the Navy’s heading on shipbuilding is my topmost goal in Congress this year.  Working with Senator Collins, I succeeded in including advanced appropriations for the DD(X) in the FY 2006 budget.  This means that the cost of shipbuilding projects will be divided among current and future appropriations as opposed to shouldering the entire cost of these very expensive ships in a single year.  BIW will be able to begin building these ships now as opposed to having to wait for future funding.

Senator Collins and I also worked tirelessly to ensure that a Senate provision was maintained in the Supplemental Appropriations bill for Iraq and Afghanistan that would prevent the Navy from proceeding with a one shipyard acquisition strategy for the DD(X) program this year. The legislative language preserves the current system of two shipyards, including Bath Iron Works, to construct DD(X) destroyers. The provision also prevents any federal funds from being used to change the acquisition strategy that the Navy currently uses for DD(X) contracts.  I will also continue working with my colleagues to expand the amount of funding for the overall DD(X) program through the Appropriations process.  Having two yards is only half the battle – we also need to guarantee that we have the resources available to build enough destroyers to protect our nation.

            More clearly needs to be done to ensure that both the Navy and Bath Iron Works have not only a noble past, but a bright and promising future.  I will not rest until we steer the Navy back on course – that is promise I make to the people of Maine.