Jim Webb: “I wish to begin by expressing my appreciation for the remarks of the Senator from South Dakota about the need to help…”

“I wish to begin by expressing my appreciation for the remarks of the Senator from South Dakota about the need to help our veterans, particularly those who have been serving in these recent endeavors. I wish to express my personal appreciation once again for the service his own son has given our country during this period, and to the service of the Senator from Illinois, the ranking Republican on this bill, as well as to my own son for having served as an enlisted marine and infantryman in Ramadi, Iraq, through some of the worst fighting of that war. I rise today to discuss two amendments Senator Warner and I have filed to this particular bill. Each relates to the Navy's proposal to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at Naval Station Mayport in Florida by 2019. One amendment would eliminate funding of nearly $15 million for a Navy military construction project--a four-lane divided highway on the naval station. The Navy describes it as the first in a series of what will be increasingly expensive projects required to enable the Navy to create a second homeport for aircraft carriers on the east coast. The second amendment would eliminate approximately $15 million for architectural planning and design services for a number of follow-on military construction projects at Mayport tied, again, to carrier homeporting. This is a slippery slope.…”