WASHINGTON – Following a non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report that found conducting maintenance of submarines at private shipyards can save taxpayer money, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations and Appropriations Committees, on Tuesday urged the U.S. Navy to address the costly maintenance backlog by conducting more work at private shipyards like Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut. Specifically, the CBO found that on average, overhauls at private shipyards have been 31 percent less expensive.
“I’ve been urging the Navy for years to do more submarine maintenance work at private shipyards like Electric Boat, where I meet with workers last week. This CBO report confirms that doing so would efficiently address the costly backlog, while at the same time saving taxpayer dollars,” said Murphy. “Electric Boat is the best in the nation, and the Navy should rely on these workers to address the backlog. The longer it takes to complete this maintenance work, the more we waste money and put our national security at risk.”
Earlier this year, Murphy urged the Navy to use private shipyards for maintenance work after a non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found that delays in maintenance of submarines cost taxpayers $1.5 billion in the last ten years. Murphy personally pressed Navy officials during a U.S. Senate Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing to send submarine backlog maintenance work to Electric Boat.
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