[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 22, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                             SAVE THE NADEP

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, as the Defense Department prepares the 
latest list of military sites it will recommend for shutdown, there is 
one site that any objective observer would conclude does not belong on 
that list--the Jacksonville Naval Aviation Depot.
  Since the 1993 round of base closings cut the Nation's number of 
naval aviation depots in half, the Jacksonville NADEP's unique role as 
a cornerstone of America's military readiness has only increased. The 
core purpose of a NADEP is to provide essential industrial support to 
the Navy's tactical aircraft--a task the Jacksonville NADEP performs 
with not only maximum effectiveness, but maximum efficiency.
  Jacksonville NADEP currently handles fully half of the entire Navy's 
depot repair of aircraft engines, and does so with annual overhead 
costs of just 39 percent--11 percent below that of any other NADEP. In 
fact, the Jacksonville NADEP is so efficient that in 1994 it actually 
turned a profit of $27 million.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people want the strongest possible national 
defense at the lowest possible cost. If the Defense Department wants to 
achieve this goal, the Jacksonville NADEP is the last base it would 
ever want to close.

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