SENATOR COLLINS ANNOUNCES SECOND DDG CONTRACT FOR BIW

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Susan Collins this morning received a telephone call from the U.S. Secretary of the Navy, Gordon England, during which he confirmed to her that Bath Iron Works (BIW) will receive a contract next month to build a second DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class destroyer. The value of the contract is approximately $480 million, similar to the contract that was awarded in November to BIW for its first DDG project for this fiscal year. Secretary England assured Senator Collins that the contract for the second DDG would be awarded to BIW in January 2005.

"This is great news for Bath Iron Works and for our naval fleet," said Senator Collins. "The effectiveness of our Navy relies upon the continued enhancement of the fleet's strength and size. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I will continue to work with Secretary England to preserve our critical naval shipbuilding industrial base and to strengthen our naval fleet."

Senator Collins successfully secured billions of dollars of shipbuilding funds as part of the Fiscal Year 2005 Defense Authorization Bill, including full funding, at a level of $3.5 billion, for the construction of three DDGs, two of which will be built by BIW. Last year, Senator Collins supported $3.2 billion for DDG construction in the Defense Authorization bill that included the two destroyers to be built at BIW.

Senator Collins has also discussed BIW's shipbuilding priorities with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Chief of Naval Operations Vernon Clark, and other military officials.

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