U.S. Senate Passes Defense Bill That Includes Senator Collins' Provisions for the DD(X) Program, BIW, and Kittery-Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
U.S. SENATE PASSES DEFENSE BILL THAT INCLUDES SENATOR COLLINS' PROVISIONS FOR THE DD(X) PROGRAM, BIW, AND KITTERY-PORTSMOUTH NAVAL SHIPYARD
The U.S. Senate has approved the fiscal year 2007 Defense Authorization bill, which includes key provisions authored by Senator Collins for the DD(X) program and Bath Iron Works (BIW). In addition, the legislation would authorize $9.6 million for the construction of a new Drydock Waterfront Support Facility at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery. The final vote was 96-0. The bill now moves to conference proceedings with the House of Representatives.
"This legislation provides essential resources to our troops as they engage in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, training at home, or deployments in other countries around the world," said Senator Collins, a member of the Senate Armed Services committee. "In addition to being important for our nation's security, the programs and projects included in the bill are evidence that Maine companies make valuable contributions to the military and our country's defense."
Senator Collins says she is pleased that the Senate bill ensures a continued and steady workload at BIW.
This bill places a high priority on shipbuilding by authorizing the simultaneous construction of two DD(X) ships in FY 2007 and 2008. This is in stark contrast to the House Defense Authorization bill, which recommends the procurement of only one DD(X) at a time.
Thus, the House bill would result in significant program delay and disruption and could negatively impact the planned workload at BIW.
The House bill also recommends reducing the overall DD(X) program to only two shipsa significant decrease from the Navy's requirement for a minimum of seven DD(X) ships in its 313-ship plan.
"Abandoning the DD(X) dual lead ship strategy would be a major blow to our industrial base and would be detrimental to our national security, which requires that a high priority be placed upon building up our naval fleet to counter existing and emerging threats," said Senator Collins. "That is why I will now vigorously advocate for the Senate provisions during negotiations with the House."
http://collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=00fb6ec2-802a-23ad-4d21-eae389b82b81&Region_id=&Issue_id=&CFID=7636054&CFTOKEN=70554735