Trip will highlight shipbuilding operations in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Gene Taylor will travel to the Gulf Coast with a Congressional delegation this week to highlight the importance of the area to members of the Armed Services Committee.  The delegation will tour some of the major shipyards along the Gulf Coast that have significant Navy and Coast Guard shipbuilding contracts.

"It is important for members of the Armed Services Committee to visit these shipyards and see firsthand the complexity of these vessels and the skill of the shipyard workers who build them," Rep. Taylor said.  "This visit will give the delegation a full appreciation for the recovery efforts from Hurricane Katrina and the ability of our shipyards along the Gulf Coast to continue building the finest warships in the world." 

The delegation, which includes Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas), Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Illi.), Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Rep. Joseph Courtney (D-Conn.), will tour the coast from Thursday through Saturday.  They will kick off the trip by visiting the Austal Shipyard in Mobile, Ala. Thursday afternoon to discuss the progress of the Littoral Combat Ship currently under construction there. 

Friday the delegation will tour the Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. and the Avondale Shipyard in Louisiana, both part of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems.  The delegation will assess recovery progress and ongoing construction.  Saturday the delegation will visit the Coast Guard Industrial Support Center in Michoud, La., where they will tour the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. 

"We are particularly grateful that Congressman Skelton, the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, is visiting," Rep. Taylor said.  "There is no better advocate for a strong and powerful Navy.  The Chairman has indicated to me, on many occasions, that having highly capable ships is not enough; the country needs those ships in sufficient number to fulfill all the missions the nation demands.  In other words, quantity has a capability all its own."

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