Connecticut and Rhode Island congressmen, eager to protect jobs in their states, praised House passage Thursday of a defense spending bill that would double Virginia-class submarine production to two ships a year.
A key mission for lawmakers has been to convince the Navy to accelerate plans to double production of the high-tech attack sub. Such a move could help safeguard jobs at Electric Boat, the submarine-maker with facilities in both states.
About 7,600 people work at Electric Boat’s shipyard in Groton, while about 2,000 are employed at the company’s Quonset Point facility in Rhode Island.
Freshman Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., whose district includes the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton and the nearby Electric Boat shipyard, spearheaded the House fight along with colleagues from both states.
“Right now, we’re in the final, final stretch of this,” Courtney said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press shortly after the vote. “It has a lot of momentum.”
The House overwhelmingly passed the spending bill 400-15. Even if President Bush vetoes the measure, the House could override him, Courtney said.
“It’s not just a veto-proof number, it’s a bulletproof number,” he said of the lopsided House vote.
Courtney expects the Senate to pass a similar bill including sub funding within the next week.
Courtney’s $588 million request was included in a defense appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008. The money would allow the Navy to begin building two ships per year as early as 2010 or 2011, officials said. The Navy has opposed moving up its plans for a second sub before 2012
Connecticut and Rhode Island officials are concerned that the Navy seems determined to pull back from submarines in favor of other weaponry.
Such a trend, the state officials say, could endanger national security as the U.S. fleet shrinks and foreign nations such as China press ahead with sub production.
“An increase in the production of submarines is critical to the future of the Navy and our economy in Rhode Island,” Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I. said in a statement.
If Congress approves money for a second sub, the Navy will have to change course, Connecticut and Rhode Island lawmakers said.
Winning the support of Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a 35-year House veteran who chairs the appropriations subcommittee on military spending, was an important step to winning the funding. Courtney hosted a Murtha visit to Electric Boat in April.
Electric Boat, a division of General Dynamics Corp., and Northrop Grumman Newport News in Virginia together produce one $2.5 billion submarine a year.
Electric Boat officials say doubling annual sub production would help cut costs, something the Navy has been pushing for. The increase would also make it cheaper to buy materials while making it easier to keep workers and equipment in place, they say.
“We are encouraged by the momentum that the submarine program has developed this year, and are hopeful this bill will prevail through the entire legislative process and be signed into law,” Electric Boat president John P. Casey said in a statement. “This vote validates the need for a strong submarine fleet, and the work that the Navy, the builders and our vendors have done to make submarine construction as efficient and effective as possible.”
