Bill Nelson: “I express my personal appreciation to the senior Senator from Virginia, who has, just like the old Navy man he is, risen…”

“I express my personal appreciation to the senior Senator from Virginia, who has, just like the old Navy man he is, risen again to the call to duty of what he thinks is in the best defense interest of this country. It is one thing for the senior Senator from Florida to make this argument when it is perceived as an argument in this Senator's parochial interest because the John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier is stationed in Mayport in Jacksonville. I could argue all of the specifics Senator Warner has, and it would still be interpreted that it was the position of the Senator from Florida looking out for his constituency. Certainly, that is a part of my motivation. But a part of my motivation also is that in my title is ``United States Senator,'' and a very fortunate and proud member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I am trying to make decisions that are in the best defense interests of our country. That defense interest is clearly that we, the United States, must have a carrier homeported in Japan. We simply do not know, since it is not a decision of the central Government of Japan--it is a decision of the local municipal governments that influence the decision--whether they will be receptive to a nuclear-powered carrier.…”