Shipbuilding Industry Bears Brunt of Cuts in Pentagon Budget
Strained by the demands of a major ground war and a sweeping overhaul of U.S. forces for an uncertain future, the Pentagon faces a severe budget challenge. According to the Providence Journal, while Congress and the Bush administration are working on a very large spending program for the military, the outlay for shipbuilding will be tight -- a prospect that is hurting the industry. The Navy's problem, says one Washington analyst, is not a lack of ships, but a lack of money to keep the shipbuilding industry moving. Congress and the Bush administration are working on a very large defense spending blueprint for fiscal 2006, but it will continue a long string of tight shipbuilding budgets that are pinching the industry hard.
Navy’s Shipbuilding Budget Increased
The Navy will enjoy its biggest shipbuilding budget surge since the end of the Cold War — including money to speed production of submarines — under a $459.3b defense spending bill that President Bush recently signed into law. The Pentagon spending bill for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 totals slightly less than Mr. Bush sought but it raises military pay and health benefits plus spending for the National Guard and reserves beyond what he requested. The bill also represents a hike of 9.5 percent – almost $40b — over the level of fiscal year 2007, continuing a strong upward trend in the defense budget since Mr. Bush took office. The bill omits most of the emergency spending Mr.
Marine equipment makes waves at OTE
James Rall, of Hydroacustics Inc., of New York, explains uses for the Proteus ROV roaming ocean vehicle, used for exploration with cameras and lights. The ROV is controlled by a joystick. PROVIDENCE — Jason Cedro clicked on a computer mouse at the Rhode Island Convention Center yesterday and on the screen appeared a live, gull’s-eye view of Narragansett Bay, from a camera perched miles to the south at Beavertail State Park, in Jamestown. He clicked again to order the camera, by wireless connection, to pan the Bay, then focus more closely on a power boat motoring across the water beneath a blue sky. From the same screen, Cedro was also able to obtain a live view of the Bay’s activity from Prudence Island, another from the area around the Pell Bridge in Newport.
Blount Donates Cruise Ship to Three Colleges
According to reports, three colleges will share a donation from philanthropist and shipbuilder Luther Blount -- a 175-ft. cruise ship. Blount announced he will give the ship, called the Niagara Prince, to Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University and Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston when it retires in the fall. Blount graduated from Wentworth in 1937 with a degree in machine construction and tool design. He received honorary doctorates from Rhode Island College and Roger Williams University. The Niagara Prince was built in Warren in 1994. It has a retractable pilothouse that allows it to pass through shallow waters and low-lying bridges. It can carry up to 90 passengers and crew.
