I remain, however, very concerned about the Department's future shipbuilding plan, particularly as it affects the transition from the DDG to the experimental destroyer (DD(X)).

How do you envision the U.S. Navy's capability to meet current and growing worldwide threats with less than a 300-ship Navy?

You have suggested that a more appropriate fleet size would be approximately 375 ships to meet current and future threats.

I've been following with interest your thoughts about a 'maritime' North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

As of January 30, 2004, our fleet consists of only 294 ships.

I think this hearing is most appropriate and fortuitously comes at a critical juncture, particularly in regards to the New England groundfish crisis.

We seem to be driven by litigation and judicial-based remedies and decisions. This is really a failure of the system at all levels.

Something has gone terribly wrong in our fisheries management and I hope today that we will be able to provide some recommendations that will visibly improve fisheries management.

We must break this cycle. The courts should not be managing our fisheries--that is the job of NMFS and the Regional Fishery Management Councils.

I think we can turn it around. I thank the Committee for holding a hearing like this.

I hope that sentiment prevails and is expressed in very strong terms to the Department of Justice.

Shouldn't you be making the final decision? There is a concern here on our part about who's going to make the final decision.

We obviously have to reverse this destructive trend toward litigation which is proliferating.

I hope we can create a national program with a national approach that will reassure the industries that are directly affected by these kinds of decisions.

I think it's a real surprise that the judgment exceeded this settlement in a very restrictive way.

We certainly want to be involved in every way possible to ensure that we proceed in a timely fashion.

That's exactly right.

There should be a sense of urgency about this, because we need to turn this agency around.