Mark Warner: “They key here is balance during the transition period. The ongoing global war on terrorism places enormous budgetary…”

“They key here is balance during the transition period. The ongoing global war on terrorism places enormous budgetary pressure on the Defense bills. For example, we were certainly aware that the LPD-17 design is in production, but at a very low rate. The committee supported funding for the fiscal year 2004 ship. I also understand that the Navy is attempting to accelerate production to allow procurement of a ship in fiscal year 2005.”