Congresswoman Brown Issues Dear Colleague in Strong Support of the Kennedy
CONGRESSWOMAN BROWN ISSUES DEAR COLLEAGUE IN STRONG SUPPORT OF THE KENNEDY
(Washington, DC) Today, Congresswoman Corrine Brown sent out a "Dear Colleague" letter to the entire Democratic Caucus on the importance of saving the Kennedy. Specifically, the Congresswoman calls on her Democratic colleagues to support and become cosponsors of Representative Ander Crenshaw's bill, H.R. 304, which would 'require the naval forces of The United States to include not less than 12 operational aircraft carriers.' The text of the Dear Colleague letter reads as follows:
"Aircraft carriers are the backbone of the modern military. President Bush is attempting to eliminate one in an effort to pay for other "more important" priorities.
In a last ditch effort to reach OMB budgetary goals, the Department of the Defense approved drastic cuts in the Navy's Fiscal Year 2006 budget. This includes a reduction from 12 to 11 aircraft carriers.
One of the arguments Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has made is that our armed forces need to be more mobile for a new kind of enemy. The different branches of military service need to work together to fight the common enemy.
The Navy is trying to fulfill this mission, but cannot support operations with limited resources.
In addition, this would leave only one aircraft carrier port based on the East Coast. Putting all of the military's eggs in one basket, by reducing options and resources for future operations is not good policy. This is an example of the budget driving national security rather than the needs of national security retaining the resources to protect our citizens.
I urge your support for H.R. 304, a bill introduced by my Florida colleague Ander Crenshaw that would require the naval forces of the United States to include not less than 12 operational aircraft carriers.
This will not only affect the number of aircraft carriers in the fleet, but could impact the number of ships that are kept operational well into the future. The future of our armed forces is at stake.
Please sign onto HR 304 and keep our nation secure."
http://www.house.gov/corrinebrown/press109/pr050127.htm