From his perch on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw came out swinging Thursday at the proposed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), arguing that it will take away $30 million needed to ready Mayport to serve as the home port for a nuclear submarine in 2019.
At a time when our nation is faced with serious and pertinent national security challenges, my colleagues from Virginia wish to debate an issue that has already been thoroughly reviewed and decided, said Crenshaw, who represents parts of the First Coast and North Florida, including the large naval community in Jacksonville. The Navy has spoken, the Department of Defense has spoken, and Congress has spoken. The decision is clear -- the Navy needs two East Coast nuclear carrier home ports.
Make no mistake, I will fight against this latest game to deny Mayport its funding just as I successfully fought last year and successfully fought the year before that, said Crenshaw. I continue to be amazed that six years of intense scrutiny, countless hearings, comprehensive analyses at the militarys highest levels, and three straight years of congressional funding are not enough to prevent my colleagues from Virginia from trying to revisit this issue yet again.
While Mayport has traditionally housed aircraft carriers, there have not been any stationed there since 2007, when the USS John F. Kennedy was decommissioned.
Virginia Republican Congressman Randy Forbes, chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, which passed the NDAA on Thursday, defended the proposal --and made no bones it would help the Old Dominion. Forbes represents the 4th Congressional District in Virginia, which is near the Navy port at Norfolk.
The portion of the annual national defense policy bill approved today after an extraordinarily cooperative, bipartisan effort by the Readiness Subcommittee will make significant improvements to the war-fighting capabilities of the armed forces, insisted Forbes. In addition, it will make important investments in Virginia, particularly throughout the 4th District, to ensure that our troops, weapons systems, equipment, naval bases, and military facilities are not only maintained, but more importantly are enhanced.
In the press release Forbes office sent out Thursday, one of the key benefits to Virginia in the Readiness Subcommittees mark was the fact it strikes $30 million that would have been used to move a Norfolk-based nuclear aircraft carrier to Mayport, Fla.
Due to ongoing concerns about the overall costs associated with establishing a second nuclear carrier home port on the East Coast, and the construction and maintenance costs associated with the Navys proposal, the subcommittee strikes $30 million in funding to support military construction requirements that would promote nuclear aircraft carrier home porting at Naval Station Mayport, continued the release from the Forbes camp.
Forbes and Crenshaw are veterans of the House, having both been elected to Congress for the first time after the 2000 elections. With both Virginia and Florida considered battlegrounds in the 2012 presidential race, this tug-of-war appears to be one to watch in the months to come.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
