Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to also rise in opposition to this amendment. Passage of this amendment may result in the government being liable for the costs of maintaining these idle facilities. If we're looking at the total picture here, we want to make sure we are making the most efficient decision in right-sizing this industry. And after a thorough review and endorsement by the Department of Defense, the contractor's plans to wind down ship construction were approved back in 2010. This amendment seeks to prohibit payments under existing Federal law for restructuring costs associated with the transition of the Avondale shipyard. And I want to emphasize ``transition'' is the key word here because as the law is currently written, it allows the facility in Louisiana to potentially be reconfigured to an alternate use in the future. So if we want to transition, make sure we are using that yard, using the employees there, if we don't have the capacity needed to build ships, we want to make sure we can transition. If this amendment were to become law, there is no chance of transitioning the Avondale facility to something other than shipbuilding, and the government may be held liable for the costs of maintaining an idle shipyard. We don't want that. We want to make sure that capacity is used in a productive way. So simply put, this amendment will not prevent the closure of Avondale. And I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment.”