Republican Gov. Jeb Bush and some of Florida's members of Congress said yesterday that they will vigorously oppose a Pentagon proposal to retire the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier stationed in their state.
The proposal is among a host of cost-cutting measures the Pentagon is considering as it prepares its 2006 budget, scheduled for release in early February. The measures, aimed at helping reduce the federal budget deficit and offset Iraq war costs, are considered tentative and have not been approved by the Office of Management and Budget or Congress, where they could face substantial resistance.
The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy returns Dec. 13 to its home port of Mayport, Fla., after a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf.
(Don Burk -- AP)
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The Pentagon is seeking $60 billion in savings over the next six years, starting with $10 billion in the 2006 budget, said Loren Thompson, a defense industry analyst.
The Kennedy, which was launched in 1968, delivered more than 64,000 pounds of bombs during the war in Afghanistan. Its home port is Mayport, Fla., where it contributes $250 million a year to the local economy, according to Florida lawmakers.
It is "important for our state as well as national security interests," Bush said in a conference call with reporters. He said he would lobby his brother President Bush on the issue. "You bet I'll be lobbying hard," he said.
The Pentagon's cost-cutting proposals go further than the ones proposed by the Navy earlier this year. Under the plans, the Navy will build four ships in fiscal 2006, compared with nine planned for the current fiscal year, and delay production of a new generation of destroyers. The American Shipbuilding Association has warned the cuts would lead to thousands of layoffs in an already struggling industry.
The Pentagon has declined to discuss the specific budget proposals and stressed that nothing is final. The agency is focusing on enhancing military capabilities, spokesman Eric Ruff said.
Navy Secretary Gordon R. England informed several lawmakers before Christmas that the Pentagon has proposed reducing the carrier fleet to 11 by retiring the Kennedy.
This is a "slash-for-cash kind of decision that's bad for policy in terms of national security," Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) said.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said he will work to have money for the program restored, or institute a requirement that the carrier fleet number 12. "When we are at war, that is not a time to reduce carriers," Nelson said.
Industry experts have debated for years how many carriers the Navy needs, with some proposing it could thrive with nine or 10, instead of 12. "There are so many other uses for the money," Michael E. O'Hanlon, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said.
The Navy could spend the money on new technology and adopt strategies that would reduce the need for so many carriers, he said.
The Pentagon also is considering a reduction in funding for the F/A-22. Under the proposal, Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F/A-22 fighter jet would remain fully funded through 2008 with the company building 24 to 26 of the planes a year, according to sources familiar with the issue. But funding could dwindle or stop after 2008, the sources said.
The Army is expected to be largely saved from significant cuts, because it already canceled development of its Comanche helicopter and self-propelled artillery system known as the Crusader. Key parts of the Army's $110 billion modernization program, the Future Combat Systems, also have been delayed.
Staff writer Dafna Linzer contributed to this report.
