
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 1, 1994                   TAG: 9407010097
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A18   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Newport News Daily Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Short

NEWPORT NEWS YARD SEES CARRIER IN FUTURE

The aircraft carrier that Newport News Shipbuilding and the Virginia congressional delegation have lobbied for intensely over the past two years cleared its last major hurdle this week and is virtually guaranteed to be approved by Congress this year.

The House late Wednesday approved a $243.6 billion defense appropriations bill that includes $3.6 billion for the carrier's final payment. The vote was 330 to 91. The Senate, meanwhile, has endorsed building the carrier in 1995 and on Thursday was preparing to approve its own defense authorization bill following debate over provisions unrelated to the carrier, including whether to lift the arms embargo in Bosnia.

``I'm 99 percent claiming victory,'' said Rep. Norman Sisisky, D-Petersburg, who led the lobbying effort among Democrats who control the House.

Winning the carrier work will prevent the loss of another 4,000 shipyard jobs - though it will do nothing to save 7,000 already on the chopping block - and help the yard survive defense cutbacks, yard officials have said.

President Clinton, who as a candidate opposed a 12-carrier Navy fleet, now supports building another carrier and included money for a new one in his defense budget.

``It's gone through a lot of important gates,'' shipyard spokesman Jack Garrow said of the carrier. ``It has a few more to go, but so far we've been pleased with the way it's going.''

The carrier is the largest single item in the defense budget.

by CNB