Political Quotes

“I would like to comment upon Senator Mikulski's amendment to establish a Navy pilot program for ship scrapping practices. While I support Senator Mikulski's amendment, I would like to clarify some of the issues and concerns regarding this amendment. Worker safety and environmental issues related to the scrapping of the U.S.S. Coral Sea were raised. I would like to note that the contractor that conducted the scrapping work on behalf of the Navy received criminal sanctions for environmental violations. In turn, the Navy has worked very diligently to resolve and eliminate future contractor problems in this area by adjusting its contractor selection method to ensure that the contractor has the requisite technical, financial, environmental, and worker safety qualifications. Specifically, the Navy has replaced the lowest bidder methodology with the requirement that a determination of best value be made in contract selection. Finally, there has been reference to the overseas scrapping of Navy ships, as follows: 'In India, 35,000 men scrapped . . . ships with little or more than their bare hands. They worked under wretched conditions. This is an international disgrace.' I have been informed that the Navy has not contracted to scrap ships overseas.”