Senator Warner joined Senator Jim Webb and Congressmen Randy Forbes, Glenn Nye, Bobby Scott, and Rob Wittman in writing to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, urging them not to authorize an appropriation of $46.3 million to dredge the channel and basin at Florida's Naval Station Mayport.
The House Armed Services Committee voted overwhelming to remove the funding authorization after an in-depth review by the Committee determined that it was premature to expend $46.3 million to initiate dredging prior to the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). The Senate version contains the authorization which must be resolved by House and Senate conferees.
In their letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the two committees, the Virginia lawmakers cited poor policy, fiscal irresponsibility, and lack of strategic justification:
“Mindful of our increasingly fiscally constrained budget environment, we believe the QDR’s review is the best approach to assess the military necessity, costs, and benefits associated with all aspects of carrier homeporting or port visits at NS Mayport."
Specifically, the Virginia lawmakers cited the following reasons for the House position to be accepted in conference:
spending nearly $50 million of taxpayer funds before the QDR review is completed is poor policy;
the expense of transforming NS Mayport into a homeport for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers is fiscally irresponsible;
and the Navy has not justified the strategic or military requirements for deep dredging at NS Mayport nor creating an additional CVN homeport on the East Coast.
Before a crowd of more than 1,800, Senator Warner outlined his three principles for health care reform during a town hall meeting last night in Fredericksburg.
Senator Warner appeared on MSNBC's "Dr. Nancy" this afternoon to discuss what he is looking to see from the Senate Finance Committee's health reform legislation, expected later this week.
The U.S. Senate adopted the FY2010 Transportation-HUD Appropriations Act this afternoon, which included $85 million in federal funds as part of the federal government’s multi-year, $900 million commitment for the Dulles Rail Extension.
Senator Warner appeared with Neil Cavuto on Fox Business Channel yesterday to discuss the health care proposal released by the Senate Finance Committee.
In May, Senator Warner urged the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to move quickly to investigate the alleged impact of Chinese-made drywall in several dozen homes in Hampton Roads. In June, he again emphasized the importance of conducting the investigation quickly.
This morning, Senator Warner joined nine of his freshman colleagues in back-to-back speeches on the need to keeping moving forward on bipartisan health reform.
Over coffee and donuts this morning, Senator Warner opened our office doors to Virginians who had come to Washington for the annual Congressional Black Caucus legislative conference.
Senator Warner recently spoke about the need for energy innovation during the Council on Competitiveness' National Energy Summit and International Dialogue.
Senator Warner participated in a panel discussion on reigning-in federal budget deficits this morning hosted by the Center for American Progress and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.