Amendment strips funds for carrier move

WASHINGTON (WAVY) - Congressional representatives from Hampton Roads offered an amendment Thursday to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) aimed at stopping the transfer of an aircraft carrier from Norfolk to Mayport, Florida.

Reps. Glenn Nye, Randy Forbes and Rob Wittman offered the amendment during consideration of the annual defense policy legislation in the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee.  Click here to view the amendment introduced by Nye.

The amendment, which passed with bipartisan supports, prevents $2 million from being allocated to begin the planning and design for military construction projects needed to relocate the aircraft carrier.

There are no representatives from Florida on the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee.  The Readiness Subcommitte's Virginia members all represent areas of Hampton Roads.

"With an already strained defense budget and rapidly increasing federal government spending, this redundant homeport creates an unnecessary burden on the budget," Wittman said in a released statement. "Before the Navy begins the process of spending $1 billion to create a second homeport for nuclear aircraft carriers on the East Coast, the Navy should instead focus on the backlogs in ship repairs and other Navy priorities in need of funding."

“I’m committed to using our defense dollars wisely, and without a clear, risk-based rationale for creating a redundant homeport, I will continue working to block this unnecessary spending," said Nye in another released statement.  "I was proud to introduce this amendment today with the support of my colleagues in the Hampton Roads delegation, Congressmen Rob Wittman and Randy Forbes, and we’re going to keep making the case that the Navy’s controversial homeporting plan is not a good use of taxpayer dollars.”

The amendment must still be approved by the House Armed Services Committee, which includes two members from Florida - Reps. Thomas J. Rooney and Jeff Miller.  Once the National Defense Authorization Act exits the committee, the House of Representatives must also approve all amendments.  The final bill will ultimately need to also be reconciled with the Senate version.

A spokesperson for Rep. Nye expects the full House Armed Services Committee to debate and pass the bill on Wednesday.  A vote in the House of Representatives will come later this summer.

The NDAA is the bill that specifies the Pentagon's annual budget and spending.

The bill before the House Armed Services Committee is H.R.5136.