WASHINGTON – Following 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, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations and Appropriations Committees, on Monday urged the U.S. Navy to address the costly maintenance backlog. Specifically, Murphy called on the U.S. Navy to use private shipyards, like Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, to complete the work.

“This report should be a wake-up call for the Navy. The Navy’s maintenance work for submarines can’t only be done at public shipyards,” said Murphy. “The men and women who work at Electric Boat are the best at what they do. The only way we can make sure we have a submarine force ready to take our national security challenges head on – and save taxpayers money – is to make sure that trained workers like those at Electric Boat can help address the backlog of maintenance work.”

During a U.S. Senate Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing earlier this year, Murphy pressed Vice Admiral Dixon R. Smith of the U.S. Navy to better utilize private shipyards, like Electric Boat, to address the backlog of maintenance for submarines.

 

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