WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lawmakers from the Maine and Mississippi congressional delegations today urged Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro to include funding for three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in the Biden administration’s FY2023 budget for the U.S. Navy. U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), along with Representativ... Read more »
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, and Governor Janet Mills sent a letter to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, urging him to name a DDG-51 destroyer after Master Sergeant Gary Gordon, a Lincoln native and master sergeant in the United States Army’s Delta Force special operations unit. MSG Gordon sacrificed his life while re... Read more »
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) on Tuesday voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY2022). The compromise defense bill authorizes three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, builds on previous attempts to close the pay gap by authorizing support for a 2.7 percent pay increase for our service men and women in uniform, and makes sweeping ... Read more »
WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today voted for the House passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY2022). The House-passed bill authorizes three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and includes critical measures to combat sexual assault in the military, mitigate the effects of PFAS contamination, and address the climate emergency. Text of t... Read more »
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01), member of the House Appropriations Committee, today welcomed the restoration of funding for a second DDG-51 Flight III destroyer that had been removed from the President’s Budget Request, highlighting the need for this funding to produce reliable ships for the Navy and to U.S. protect national security. “Anyone who has been to Bath Iron Works knows that BIW w... Read more »
Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME), Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01), and Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) announced today that Bath Iron Works has been awarded an additional $55,118,975 from the U.S. Navy under a previously awarded contract to perform lead yard services on the DDG-51 class Guided Missile Destroyer program. “At a time when many American adversaries are increa... Read more »
Maine’s U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree (ME-01) and Jared Golden (ME-02) today hosted House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee Chairman Joe Courtney (CT-02) at Bath Iron Works, where the three lawmakers highlighted the facility’s value to the Navy’s mission. Photos of the lawmakers’ visit are available online here. The visit follows the release of the Presidential Budg... Read more »
Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) and Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Jared Golden (D-ME) expressed their opposition to the inclusion of only one DDG-51 Flight III destroyer in President Joe Biden’s budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, and committed to advocating for increased procurement of the destroyers. At least two DDG-51s were previously project... Read more »
U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) and Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Jared Golden (D-ME) sent a letter to President Joe Biden expressing concern about recent media reports that the Department of Defense (DoD) is only expected to request a single DDG-51 Flight III destroyer in the administration’s budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. This would be a reduction from th... Read more »
Members of Maine’s and Mississippi’s congressional delegations today sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks urging them to provide unequivocal support to the long-standing and congressionally mandated requirement for a larger Navy fleet. More ships—and a strong shipbuilding industrial base—are vital to the United States’ national security ... Read more »