Letters of Support for Shipyard Delivered to Washington
By Liz Goldberg
WASHINGTON, April 12 – With the Pentagon’s announcement of suggested base closings little more than a month away, four members of the Seacoast Shipyard Association traveled to Washington Tuesday to deliver letters of support for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to members of the Maine and New Hampshire congressional delegations.
All four senators and four House members were on hand to receive the more than 10,000 letters, which they said would be passed along to the Pentagon later in the day. The shipyard is in danger of closing as the Department of Defense reduces the number of military bases in the United States.
“These are not just computer print-out letters,” said Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H.). “Every single one of these letters has a handwritten note.”
The letters, which are printed on Seacoast Shipyard Association’s letterhead, have been published in local newspapers for community members to clip and mail. They also are available on the group’s Web site, www.saveourshipyard.org , said Pat Dowaliby, office manager, secretary and treasurer of the association. The bottom of the letter has blank space for senders to write a personal note, and each letter was signed.
The association has spent the past few months collecting letters to show community support for the shipyard, which it says has been recognized as the safest, most efficient and least expensive shipyard in the country.
As other members of the delegations chatted before the presentation, Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-N.H.) quietly read through a few of the letters.
“They express the same sentiment that I think we’ve been expressing,” including noting the quality, speed and efficiency of the shipyard, as well as community support for it, Bradley said in an interview after the presentation of the letters.
Collins noted that the letters are not only from the shipyard workers but also are from business leaders and other members of the community.
“We have to give credit to the community for responding to it [the letter-writing campaign],” Ginny Griffith, business development manager for the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce and an executive board member of the Seacoast Shipyard Association, said after the event.
Collection of the letters will continue until an April 23 rally in several communities surrounding the shipyard, Griffith said. Members of the congressional delegations are expected to attend, she said.
Dale Gerry, who worked with the delegations and the shipyard in the three rounds of base closings in the 1990s and is a consultant for this round, said this is the most “concerted effort” he has seen from the members of each delegation.
“When you’ve got eight members of Congress together in the same room at the same time, that is a statement” of support, he said.
On May 16, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will reveal his recommendations for base closings. A nine-member presidential commission will review the list and submit its recommendations to President George W. Bush, who in turn will send his proposals to Congress. The legislative branch must then accept or reject the recommendations on an all-or-none basis.
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