Congress eyes Navy shipbuilding programs (Navy Times)

[GreatAmerican]

<p>Congress</a> eyes Navy shipbuilding programs - Navy News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports - Navy Times</p>

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Congressional scrutiny of the U.S. Navy’s shipbuilding programs is likely to continue to be sharp, if the new budget season’s first two naval hearings are any indication.</p>

<p>On Wednesday, House Appropriations Defense subcommittee chairman Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., signaled a possible lack of support for the new Zumwalt class DDG 1000 destroyer program when he asked about the effects of delaying the 2009 ship in favor of more auxiliary cargo ships. Murtha later said he’d like to examine cutting short the planned buy of seven Zumwalts and moving up acquisition of the follow-on CG(X) cruiser, now scheduled to begin in 2011....

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[GreatAmerican]

<p><a href=“http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/03/navy_shipbuilding_032408w/[/url]”>http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/03/navy_shipbuilding_032408w/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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The Navy celebrated last month when it awarded the construction contracts for the first two DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class advanced destroyers. But sentiment is building in Congress to end the planned seven-ship program after the first two — and use the money to build other ships, including some the Navy says it does not want.</p>

<p>In remarks made in public hearings over the past three weeks, lawmakers have expressed little faith in the Navy’s ability to estimate how much money it needs to build its 313-ship fleet.</p>

<p>The service revised its cost estimates for the 30-year fleet plan in February. Over the next six years, the Navy says, it needs an average of $15.6 billion…

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