Ander Crenshaw Questions Navy Secretary About Planned Cuts

From his perch on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., asked Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert about what the Obama administration plans to do with the Navy budget.

My bottom line: make sure the administration makes national security decisions based on strategic need rather than sacrificing key defense assets to fund its own separate priorities, Crenshaw said. We need only consider the Ukraine to be reminded that the world is full of threats that must be managed to the best of our ability.

That means maintaining LCS production levels, preventing the removal of 11 cruisers from the fleet, and making sure P-8 Poseidons, E-2D Hawkeyes, submarines, and all other assets are at the levels we need to accomplish Navy and joint missions for decades to come, Crenshaw added.