THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 14, 1996 TAG: 9603140301
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
U.S. Sen. John W. Warner hit a potential Democratic opponent in a submarine attack Wednesday, accusing Alexandria businessman Mark R. Warner of misunderstanding the basics of a vital shipbuilding program.
The Republican lawmaker could scarcely hide his amusement at Mark Warner's statement in a position paper this week that the Navy's new Seawolf sub ``can be built most efficiently by the men and women of Newport News Shipbuilding.''
``The Seawolf is a lost cause,'' for the local yard, John Warner observed. ``I'll just have to take this young fella by the hand'' and teach him.
Designed at Newport News, the three-ship Seawolf class of subs is being built at Electric Boat of Groton, Conn., a General Dynamics subsidiary that is the Virginia yard's lone rival in the submarine business.
Newport News lost a battle for the Seawolf years ago, but with help from the state's Congressional delegation the yard has been competing aggressively with Electric Boat for the right to build a successor sub, now known only as a new attack submarine. The Navy and the Clinton administration initially tried to direct that work to Electric Boat as well.
John Warner, Sen. Charles S. Robb, and Reps. Herbert H. Bateman and Norman Sisisky were key players last year in brokering a deal to divide the first four contracts for the new attack submarine between the two shipyards.
Under the agreement, the Connecticut yard will build the first and third ships in the new line, beginning in 1998 and 2000, with Newport News getting the second and fourth contracts in 1999 and 2001. The two yards are to compete for subsequent ships.
``Where's he been for the last two-and-a-half years?'' John Warner asked Wednesday, recalling last year's negotiations.
Mark Warner, a former state Democratic chairman who is no relation to John Warner, formally announced his Senate candidacy on Monday. His campaign could not be reached Wednesday for comment but a spokesman was quoted in one published report as saying that the position paper's mention of the Seawolf was intended to refer instead to the new attack sub.
Each Warner has opposition for his party's nomination. Former Rep. Leslie Byrne of Fairfax is running against Mark Warner for the Democratic nod, while former federal budget director James C. Miller is opposing John Warner in a Republican primary. by CNB