Statement of Senator Webb on the Navy’s Record of Decision Regarding a Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier

Washington, DC—The following is a statement from Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) on the Navy’s Record of Decision regarding a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier:

“Today’s announcement by the Navy that it intends to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Mayport was a foregone conclusion, given the Bush administration’s attempt to fast-track this process before it departs.

“I intend to bring full scrutiny to this decision in the coming months as it makes its way through the appropriate congressional process. I have yet to receive a proper, intelligence-based assessment from the Navy on this matter, despite the fact that as late as January 12, the Chief of Naval Operations confirmed that he could not identify a threat-based requirement for this proposal.

“This is not a simple turf issue between competing interests in Virginia and Florida. It is a matter of properly identifying strategic and fiscal priorities. I am an American before I am a Virginian, and I have spent my entire life working on issues of military and national security. Nuclear-powered aircraft carriers have been homeported in Norfolk since the USS Enterprise was commissioned 47 years ago. The Navy made no effort to duplicate Norfolk’s nuclear-support infrastructure in Mayport at the height of the Cold War, and it has made no compelling argument why it is necessary to do so today.

“If I were serving as Secretary of the Navy today, I would be very worried about where I would be finding $4.6 billion to pay for unfunded requirements in the Navy's existing budget. I would also be worried about where I would be finding the billions of dollars needed to fund procurement for the Navy’s lamentably mismanaged aircraft programs, and the billions that the Navy would need to grow its fleet by more than 25 ships, to its announced goal of 313 combatants. I would not be proposing an additional billion dollars on top of these shortfalls for a non-essential, redundant facility in Mayport, Florida.

“We are consulting closely with the Senate Committees on Armed Forces and Appropriations to ensure that a fully justified cost/benefit analysis and other Navy reporting requirements are completed before the committees consider any appropriation to support the Navy’s proposal.”


To download a copy of Senator Webb’s 24-page critical assessment of the Navy’s proposal to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at Mayport, Fla., visit: http://webb.senate.gov/contact/homeport/CriticalAssessmentMayportHomeporting.pdf.

Contact: Jessica Smith, 202-228-5185 or Kimberly Hunter, 202-228-5258