Senate Proceeding on Dec 21st, 2010 :: 6:23:10 to 6:29:35
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6:23:06 to 6:23:27( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: senator shaheen so we sort of stay in order. if that would be agreeable? the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sessions: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: i just would like to take a brief moment

6:23:10 to 6:29:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Jeff Sessions

6:23:28 to 6:23:48( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: express my pleasure in the fact that the continuing resolution that passed will now be going to the house, had within it a provision to allow the navy to award the literal combat ship bid competion to two of the bidders.

6:23:49 to 6:24:11( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: it took a bit of a modification of the procedure to allow them to do that. it's really a product of good news. at one point in the late 1990's, i chaired the seapower subcommittee of armed services. i've been a member of it. i've seen the development of the

6:24:12 to 6:24:32( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: literal combat ship concept. admiral vern clark determined it was the future of the tphaefplt these ships -- of the navy. these ships, we expect to have 55 of them in the fleet. they will be manned by only 40 sailors. they will be high speed, able to travel in shallow waters, be effective for pirates, effective

6:24:33 to 6:24:54( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: for mine sweeping and other things of that nature. the house put this language in. we had a hearing in the committee just a few days ago. admiral ruffhead and navy officials, the secretary of the navy and representatives from

6:24:55 to 6:25:15( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: the c.r.s., the c.b.o., those a, b, c agencies that evaluate these kind of proposals, and it moved forward. i thank senator levin for his leadership in it. i thank senator inouye and cochran on our side and the house leaders who also saw fit

6:25:16 to 6:25:39( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: to support the navy's idea. it wasn't a plan i suggested, but it was one i believe is good. and the good news is that this was enabled by the fact that as a surprise, the bids on the ships were very much below what

6:25:40 to 6:26:02( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: was anticipated. the legislation required that the bids come in under $480 million per ship, and it looks like these bids were going to be at $450 million. by having both shipyards go forward, the navy gets a fixed price today. in other words, if aluminum goes

6:26:03 to 6:26:24( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: up or electricity goes up, the shipyards are going to eat this. so we'll bring on both ships at the same time. not only that, but we would get 20 ships total in this first tranche of ships, rather than 19. in addition to that, the navy scores that it would have have

6:26:25 to 6:26:45( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: saved $1 billion, and that $1 billion they hope to apply to other ships that the navy needs in their 313-ship navy of the future. ashton carter, the acquisition executive said the navy's recent decision to buy

6:26:46 to 6:27:11( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: both classes of the literal ship due to lower than expected bid prices is an example of what good competion can do. it was a competive bid. i think the navy may have made a mistake in not allowing more benefit to the bidders based on how valuable a ship was, the total value.

6:27:12 to 6:27:33( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: but they made it a rigorous competition and apparently got very good bids. the average bids were, as i said, the average -- chief of tphaefl operations, admiral gary ruffhead testified before the armed services committee. he said i think the two

6:27:34 to 6:27:55( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: different types of ships give us a certain a. flexibility, versatility that one would not. as i talked earlier about this ability to mix the capabilities of a force that we put in there. i think this may have been when i asked him a question about it at that same hearing, he said, i believe that the designs of the ships and the flexibility of the

6:27:56 to 6:28:16( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: ships and also the cost of these ships open up the potential of foreign military sales that would not otherwise be there. in other words, not only could we create jobs, perhaps 3,000 to 4,000 jobs immediately, but many of our allies, with the approval of the defense department, might want to buy these ships for

6:28:17 to 6:28:38( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: their fleets, and we would have the ability to export these products abroad. so, madam president, i w say having been involved in seeing the vision, admiral -- the navy over a decade-plus, to see that finally come to fruition is good.

6:28:39 to 6:28:59( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: one navy official was quoted in one of the major publications as saying the nature of these competitions are such that there will be 100% chance of a protest, whichever one won the bid because -- one reason because the bid was so close. so we'll avoid a protest, be

6:29:00 to 6:29:22( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: able to move forward, get the ships faster, lock in the lowest possible cost, clearly lower than what would be otherwise, and maybe even able to save enough money to build an even larger ship with it. so, i thank the colleagues who have worked on it. i believe it will be a good thing. one of the ships will be built

6:29:23 to 6:29:36( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: in my hometown of mobile, alabama, and i know how excited the workers at the shipyards will be to hear that they will have jobs in the future producing one of the finest,