Rick Allen: “I thank my good colleague Senator Warner for his great leadership on this matter. This is a bipartisan effort. Let us…”

“I thank my good colleague Senator Warner for his great leadership on this matter. This is a bipartisan effort. Let us recall what this amendment is about. It is to provide our Navy with the maximum flexibility to project our power in East Asia. The Senator's amendment says before we mothball the JFK, two things have to happen. There is the Quadrennial Defense Review to determine how this mixture should be, and actually 180 days thereafter, and also assure us we can have a nuclear carrier ported in Japan, which prohibits nuclear- powered ships in their land. A little over 2 years ago, Admiral Clark said: The current force of 12 carriers and 12 amphibious groups is the minimum we can have to sustain the operations we are in. In the 2002 naval posture statement: Aircraft carrier force levels have been set at 12 ships as a result of fiscal constraints. However, real-world experience and analysis indicate that a carrier force of at least 15 ships is necessary to meet the warfighting Commander in Chief's requirements for carrier presence in all regions of importance to the United States. What has happened in the last 2 years? Nothing to restrain or think that these threats are less than they were before. We are still in the war on terrorism. China is building up their navy. They are passing anticession laws, threatening Taiwan more than ever.…”