American Shipbuilding Association

CONTACT:
Cynthia L. Brown
202-544-8170

(Washington, D.C.) – On June 21, 2006, the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus sent a letter signed by 69 Members of Congress to Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld requesting a top line increase to the Navy’s Fiscal Year ‘08 ship procurement budget. The top line increase is urged to enable Navy leadership to meet its ship procurement budget requirements of $14.1 billion announced by Chief of Naval Operations Michael C. Mullen as the amount needed to rebuild the nation’s sea power fleet.

The letter sponsored by Jo Ann Davis (R-VA) and Gene Taylor (D-MS), co-chairs of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus, cites the 51% overall increase in defense spending since 2001 while shipbuilding has been cut by 16.8% over the same period. The Navy’s ship procurement account has been the “bill payer” for other defense programs resulting in the contraction of the nation’s naval fleet from 341 ships in 2001 to just 280 ships today.

American Shipbuilding Association President, Cynthia L. Brown, commended the action taken by the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus. “The Caucus is taking the steps necessary to address the serious homeland and national security deficiency as the fleet shrinks to historic lows. Small shipbuilding budgets and low rates of production not only leave America’s security interests vulnerable, but also place the defense industrial base at risk,” said Brown.

Members of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus co-signing the letter to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld are: Neil Abercrombie; Gary Ackerman; Rodney Alexander; Tom Allen; Richard Baker; Marion Berry; Tim Bishop; Jo Bonner; Robert Brady; Corrine Brown; Henry Brown; Sherrod Brown; G.K. Butterfield; Eric Cantor; Dennis Cardoza; Geoff Davis; Tom Davis; Rosa DeLauro; Charles Dent; Mike Doyle; Thelma Drake; Phil English; Mike Fitzpatrick; Randy Forbes; Trent Franks; Virgil Goode; Bob Goodlatte; Bart Gordon; Gene Green; Melissa Hart; Robin Hayes; Brian Higgins; Steve Israel; William Jefferson; Bobby Jindal; Nancy Johnson; Walter Jones; Patrick Kennedy; John Kline; Jim Langevin; Rick Larsen; John Larson; Frank LoBiondo; Stephen Lynch; Thaddeus McCotter; James McGovern; Mike McIntyre; Charlie Melancon; Mike Michaud; Richard Neal; Chip Pickering; Todd Platts; Nick Rahall; Dutch Ruppersberger; Tim Ryan; Jim Saxton; Joe Schwarz; Bobby Scott; Rob Simmons; Chris Smith; Ted Strickland; Bart Stupak; John Sullivan; Bennie Thompson; Joe Wilson, and Frank Wolf. A copy of the letter is below.

The American Shipbuilding Association is the national trade association of the shipbuilding industry. ASA members include the nation’s six largest shipyards and more than 70 companies engaged in the manufacture of ship systems and components.

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The Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301-1000

Dear Secretary Rumsfeld:

As you continue your work on crafting the Department of Defense FY08 budget and Future Years Defense Program, we write to urge you to increase the Navy’s top line allocation in order to provide the Navy the resources necessary to budget the $14.1 billion needed for new ship procurement.

As Members of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus, we share a common concern for our future naval force structure and our nation’s ability to build the ships of the future. The Navy’s leadership recently submitted its long range plan for a 313-ship fleet to Congress, and approximately $14.1 billion in 2007 dollars will be needed annually to finance planned ship construction. While the top line budget of the Department of Defense has increased 51 percent during your tenure, the ship procurement budget has actually been cut by 16.8 percent. These budget cuts have shrunk the U.S. Navy fleet from 341 ships in 2001 to just 280 ships today. No matter how capable our ships are, no ship can be in two places simultaneously.

Additionally, there are recent Department of Defense reports that have highlighted the rapid expansion of China’s blue water Navy, and many analysts project that China’s Navy will actually outnumber the U.S. fleet by 2015. Intelligence reports have also underscored the fact that China is rapidly improving the capability of the naval ships it is building. Consequently, our national security demands that a priority be placed on rebuilding our naval fleet to counter existing and emerging threats.

Your support of the budget requirements outlined by Navy leadership is essential if we are to reverse the decline of our fleet and maintain our position as the dominant global maritime power. Thank you for your leadership in this area and for your commitment to strengthening our national security.