THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 24, 1995 TAG: 9505240476
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
A House subcommittee on Tuesday recommended scuttling the Navy's Seawolf submarine program after just two boats and said Newport News Shipbuilding should be permitted to compete for contracts on the next class of subs.
The action by the procurement subcommittee of the House National Security Committee appeared to be a victory for the Hampton Roads yard in its battle to wrest future submarine work from the Navy's preferred sub contractor, Electric Boat of Groton, Conn.
But critics of the subcommittee plan promised a prolonged fight for the $1.5 billion needed to complete a third Seawolf, which is under construction at Electric Boat. They also want to direct at least the first ships of the new sub class to the New England yard.
Electric Boat has said that both the Seawolf and the new class of subs are vital to the yard's survival. The General Dynamics subsidiary builds only subs; Newport News constructs nuclear-powered carriers and commercial ships as well as subs.
The Navy's top leadership immediately began scrambling to head off the subcommittee proposal, which could get a vote today in the full National Security Committee. The Navy's major complaints: the plan saves no money, leaves the fleet with at least one less sub than now envisioned and endangers the speedy development of a successor class of stealthy subs.
Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton and Adm. Mike Boorda, the chief of naval operations, asked for and got an emergency meeting Tuesday night with senior House leaders. Among those expected to attend were Speaker Newt Gingrich, National Security Committee Chairman Floyd Spence of South Carolina and subcommittee Chairman Duncan Hunter of California.
Hunter, outlining the subcommittee draft to reporters, said the proposal would provide about $1 billion as an ``industrial bridge'' to keep both Electric Boat and Newport News in the submarine business.
``It is a slimmer bridge'' than Electric Boat sought, he conceded.
About half of the money would pay for an extension of the hull on the second Seawolf-class sub, the Connecticut, now also under construction at Electric Boat. Details of what would go in the extra space were sketchy, but subcommittee members indicated the added space would be for special operations forces such as Navy SEALs.
Another $350 million would go to Electric Boat as a supplement to the $700 million the Navy requested for design and other preliminary work on the new line of subs. But rather than develop the new line now, Hunter said, the subcommittee wants the money spent to develop a single experimental sub.
Newport News would get up to $150 million to help design that sub, which Hunter said would be built at Electric Boat.
A new submarine design ``is a national priority,'' Hunter said. ``In my estimation, we need both yards working this problem right now.''
Despite Hunter's view of the new sub's importance, the subcommittee plan makes no commitment for construction beyond the prototype.
The proposal would let both Newport News and Electric Boat ``demonstrate innovation,'' Hunter said. Then, if Congress wants to develop a new line of subs, both yards could bid on a scaled-down boat that would incorporate the best ideas.
``Whether this works or not, I don't know,'' said Rep. Norman Sisisky, a Virginian who sits on the subcommittee and whose western Hampton Roads district includes Newport News Shipbuilding workers. But he said the plan gives ``a good shot'' at any new sub business to the Peninsula yard.
KEYWORDS: SHIPBUILDING FEDERAL CONTRACT NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING
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