New Hampshire Officials Testify in Support of Portsmouth

Thousands of Portsmouth shipyard employees descended on Boston in an attempt to save the nation’s oldest Navy base.

(here we go Portsmouth here we go...)

Dressed in yellow T-shirts and carrying the New Hampshire flag supporters came to the hearing by the busload.
Dover resident Eliot Wyman has been a pipe fitter for 25 years.
He says the Navy is making a huge mistake to close the submarine repair base.

(we are the best shipyard quality safety we put the boats back in the water faster than anyone... don’t close us please..)

Portsmouth is one of 33 military facilities nationwide recommended for closure.
The Department of Defense considers eight criteria in determining whether a base should close.
New Hampshire and Maine’s Congressional Delegation, their Governors and other officials spent two hours telling BRAC commissioners why the Pentagon erred in their conclusions.
Lynch told commissioners they completely ignored the economic impact the base closing would have on New Hampshire.

pns2 the brac report actually stated that New Hampshire was in the win column with a gain of four jobs. Nothing could be further from the truth, New Hampshire will actually lose 2000 jobs.

Lynch said that type of job loss would be nothing short of a federally induced recession.
New Hampshire Senator John Sununu says the Defense department also significantly understated the one time cost to close the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard by 293 million dollars.

pns3 (an overstatement of 1.5 billion dollars in savings that simply aren’t there and a miscalculation in the payback period, not a four year payback but a 34 year payback, an error of 30 years, these are no small mistakes)

Besides Portsmouth, the nation has three remaining naval shipyards whose work involves repairing and maintaining submarines
One of them is Pearl Harbor.
The Navy has said that Pearl Harbor is strategically important in the Pacific.
But Maine Senator Susan Collins says the Navy’s own data shows Pearl Harbor has less military value and would save the Navy more money if it closed.

(closing pearl would achieve would 1.3 billion dollars in value savings over 20 years, that is 760 million dollars more in savings than closing portsmouth would achieve)

One noticeably absent top official was recently retired Navy Rear Admiral William Klem.
He would have given insight into the military value of Portsmouth.
But the Defense Department said his testimony would violate conflict of interest rules that govern military personnel once they leave office.
New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg says Brac Commissioners will hear from the admiral.

(I think it’s great that their going to take that time and do that we would like to have him present today, but if he sits down and presents that will be as effective if not more effective than having him hear today)

Gregg says he believes New Hampshire and Maine made their case clear with BRAC commissioners – that the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard should not close.
In the meantime, BRAC will still gather information on the base.
And by July 19th Brac Commissioners would add any names to the closure list.
A final list is due to the President in September.
For NHPR news, I’m Amy Quinton.