[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 193 (Thursday, December 15, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2281]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT J. WITTMAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 15, 2011

  Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my concern about 
the United States Navy's future plan to home port a nuclear powered 
aircraft carrier aboard Naval Station Mayport. I, along with other 
members of the Virginia Congressional Delegation, have continued to 
question the duplication of resources to move the home port of a 
nuclear aircraft carrier, when current resources in Norfolk, Virginia, 
meet these needs.
  This nation is in very challenging and uncharted waters with respect 
to the Department of Defense budget. Every effort must be made to 
ensure efficient and thoughtful planning, procurement, and budgeting is 
conducted to support our national security strategy for the 21st 
century. While the budget may be getting smaller, the request for power 
projection and forward presence around the globe to protect our 
interests and ensure a peaceful future is only growing. Sequestration 
and the very real possibility of cutting $1 billion out of the 
Department of Defense budget over the next ten years puts our carrier 
force in jeopardy.
  With these major defense cuts coming we are forced to address the 
proposal by the United States Navy to move a nuclear powered aircraft 
carrier to Naval Station Mayport. While strategic dispersal of forces 
is important, what is more important is that we maintain a capable 
level of forces to disperse.
  An iconic symbol of American freedom domestically and abroad and a 
potential item for the sequestration chopping block, the aircraft 
carrier could face detrimental cuts to her fleet and capability because 
of a flawed defense strategy driven by looming budget cuts. The Navy 
has 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in her fleet. While six remain 
deployed across the world, supporting operations, others are in 
rotation, utilized for training or remain in the shipyard for necessary 
maintenance.
  On September 23, 2011, I wrote the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral 
Jonathan Greenert arguing that at a time when the nation's historic 
fiscal challenges will require drastic cuts in federal spending, it is 
fiscally irresponsible and strategically unnecessary to build expensive 
and redundant nuclear-support infrastructure for CVN homeporting when 
there are more cost-effective alternatives to sustain Mayport's future 
as an operational base.
  Admiral Greenert's response to the letter indicated concerns raised 
about the movement of an aircraft carrier to Mayport would be included 
in the Navy's strategic calculus. He stated that ``the size of fiscal 
adjustments compels us to take a comprehensive strategic review, 
examining every program element, including the funding required to 
homeport a CVN in Mayport''.
  The conference report for the National Defense Authorization Act, 
H.R. 1540, addressed the issue of military construction funding for a 
road improvement project at Mayport. It states, ``The conferees 
determined that the Massey Avenue Corridor Improvements Project had 
merit to support requirements at the Naval Station Mayport, Florida, 
whether or not a nuclear powered aircraft carrier was home ported 
there.''
  The proposed home port shift of an aircraft carrier, especially in 
this challenging budget environment, is unaffordable and unnecessary 
and I encourage this Congress and the United States Navy to carefully 
consider a better utilization of taxpayer resources to fund our men and 
women in uniform.

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