WEEKLY SENATE UPDATE

As our nation pursues a Global War on Terror, I am deeply concerned by the Navy’s proposed fiscal year (FY) 2006 shipbuilding budget that provides for the procurement of only 4 ships. This is a drastic reduction from the 9 ships funded under the recently approved FY 2005 budget. I firmly believe that if this year’s shipbuilding plan is approved, the Navy’s capability to project our nation’s military power around the world will be eroded. I believe that any cuts to our shipbuilding orders would be extremely ill-advised. Without a strong and robust Navy, our ability to meet our enemies where they live - not where we live - would be weakened.

When I served as Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower from 1999 through 2001, I worked extensively with the Navy to stabilize their shipbuilding and conversion accounts, and make room for the critically needed DD(X) Destroyers and Littorial Combat Ships, the next generation of warships. I have long advocated for increased shipbuilding contracts for the remaining operational shipyards in the U.S., including Bath Iron Works (BIW) in Bath, Maine. In the FY 2005 Defense Appropriations bill, the Congress approved $84.4 million for the advance procurement for a 2^nd Littorial Combat Ship, which will be built at BIW. I am alarmed that the steady progress we have made over the past few years to modernize our shipbuilding accounts and reach a more secure fleet strength is now in jeopardy.

This past August, President Bush announced a force restructuring plan that will return between 60,000 to 70,000 uniformed military personnel to our domestic facilities over the next ten years to give our armed forces the ability to respond to future conflicts and emerging threats around the world. I believe the President’s initiative to streamline our forces and reassign our military assets where they are most needed is appropriate as the threats we face today are unlike any we have witnessed before. But I must stress that if we are bringing troops home from these overseas facilities, and if we all recognize that our nation will continue to be confronted by the threat of global terrorism, then we must recognize that we will need the Navy like never before. We will need its mobility, its strength and its flexibility to get our troops where they need to go and provide the support they need in parts of the world where we have limited military installations.

In a conversation with Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Vern Clark last week, I raised these concerns and discussed the need to maintain and modernize our current fleet structure requirements. At this time, the Navy’s FY 2006 shipbuilding proposal is currently under review by the Office of the Secretary of Defense. There is still a lengthy process ahead before procurement requests are included in the final FY 2006 budget submitted to the Congress by the President. I will be working with Admiral Clark this fall to address these concerns and to establish a realistic shipbuilding plan that recognizes the increasing demands placed upon the Navy during the Global War on Terror and the necessity to maintain a ready fleet to defend the U.S. from current and future threats.

Most critically, I will be working to ensure that our shipbuilding infrastructure, including BIW, remains viable not just for the present, but for the future. It would be truly devastating if we find ourselves unable to respond to a threat, because we lacked manufacturing facilities and the skilled work force to produce additional ships. We have six shipyards that build new naval vessels remaining in the U.S. - BIW in Bath, Maine; Groton, CT; Norfolk, VA; New Orleans, LA; Pascagoula, MS; and San Diego, CA - we simply cannot afford any further reductions without jeopardizing our security and our nation.

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