“The question now is what happens in 2016 and out. In terms of the 10 missions the Navy has under the current defense strategy, I can’t do at least four under a BCA sequestration scenario. It also will seriously hurt shipbuilding and our industrial base.”
The uncertainty of future funding levels threatens the on-time work of the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of USS George Washington (CVN 73) and USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) – the next two carriers scheduled for their midlife modernization. During a RCOH — which all Nimitz-class aircraft carriers go through near the midpoint of their 50-year life cycle — a carrier’s nuclear fuel is replenished and the ship’s services and infrastructure are upgraded and modernized with new technologies that enable the ship to respond to future challenges and continue to play a vital role in our national defense for another 25 years. It is critical that the U.S. Navy maintains a shipbuilding schedule with 11 carriers so it can sustain the strategic surge capacity that is required of it.
A minimum of 11 carriers is vital for our national security and protecting American interests around the globe. As future funding decisions are made about the Navy’s carrier fleet, Congress must remember Rear Admiral Thomas Moore statement, “We’re an 11-carrier Navy in a 15-carrier world.”
Helen Thomas - First Female Member of the White House Press Corps
Veteran journalist Helen Thomas served in the White House press corps under ten presidents, and became the first female member of the group during President Kennedy’s administration. An advocate for women’s rights, Thomas convinced President Kennedy not to attend annual dinners for White House correspondents and photographers if women were not invited.
Pictured: President Kennedy speaks with Thomas in the Rose Garden, April 1963.
Nice deep-dive on ‘shadow lobbying’ from the folks over at The Nation.
Sunlight has also written on the subject recently: http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/11/25/how-much-lobbying-is-there-in-washington-its-double-what-you-think/
