Post by ferryfast admin on Dec 27, 2010 11:08:02 GMT -5
Cheers to Austal and to its LCS
Published: Monday, December 27, 2010, 6:13 AM
Press-Register Editorial Board By Press-Register Editorial Board
blog.al.com/press-register-commentary/2010/12/editorial_cheers_to_austal_and.html
ON NEW Year’s Eve, a toast to Austal USA and certain members of Congress will be in order, whether or not one’s beverage of choice contains alcohol.
With the congressional approval of the Navy’s littoral combat ship procurement plan coming just before Christmas, Austal’s Mobile shipyard stands to get $5 billion of Navy business, amounting to one of the biggest economic shots in the arm in the city’s history.
The money involved is comparable to the $5 billion investment in the ThyssenKrupp AG steel project. The number of new jobs — 1,800 — is even more than the 1,427 ThyssenKrupp had on board at the time of its grand opening earlier this month.
The potential for satellite businesses and other spending by people with new, well-paying, high quality jobs will spread Austal’s good fortune throughout the regional economy.
In short, business is looking much brighter for the Mobile region in the new year.
The Navy’s decision to buy 10 of each of the two LCS designs made good sense for the Navy, Austal and Mobile, and also for Lockheed Martin Corp. and Marinette, Wis., where the other version of the LCS was constructed. But getting the plan approved by Congress before the end of the year proved to be a little dicey.
The bipartisan work of Sens. Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby of Alabama, U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner of Mobile and outgoing U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor of Bay St. Louis, Miss., was instrumental in getting the deal done.
Rep. Taylor sponsored a separate bill to try to ensure that the LCS plan didn’t get lost in the last crush of lame-duck business. Though the needed legislation ultimately was attached to a larger budget bill, Rep. Taylor was working for the best interests of his constituents and the whole region right to the end of his term.
Rep. Bonner was the only Republican in the House to vote for the budget bill, and he caught heat from some GOP colleagues who, concerned about the level of government spending, asked him if he knew what he was doing.
Of course he did. Had Rep. Bonner not voted for the LCS split contract, he would have let down not just his own district, but the whole of south Alabama, south Mississippi, northwest Florida, upper Michigan and upper Wisconsin. All of those places will benefit from Rep. Bonner’s willingness to put them ahead of party politics.
On the Senate side, LCS supporters did whatever arm-twisting was necessary, even overcoming the objections of Sen. John McCain, a powerful critic of the LCS program.
So let’s lift a glass to everyone involved in making 2011 — and beyond — happier and more prosperous all around.
Published: Monday, December 27, 2010, 6:13 AM
Press-Register Editorial Board By Press-Register Editorial Board
blog.al.com/press-register-commentary/2010/12/editorial_cheers_to_austal_and.html
ON NEW Year’s Eve, a toast to Austal USA and certain members of Congress will be in order, whether or not one’s beverage of choice contains alcohol.
With the congressional approval of the Navy’s littoral combat ship procurement plan coming just before Christmas, Austal’s Mobile shipyard stands to get $5 billion of Navy business, amounting to one of the biggest economic shots in the arm in the city’s history.
The money involved is comparable to the $5 billion investment in the ThyssenKrupp AG steel project. The number of new jobs — 1,800 — is even more than the 1,427 ThyssenKrupp had on board at the time of its grand opening earlier this month.
The potential for satellite businesses and other spending by people with new, well-paying, high quality jobs will spread Austal’s good fortune throughout the regional economy.
In short, business is looking much brighter for the Mobile region in the new year.
The Navy’s decision to buy 10 of each of the two LCS designs made good sense for the Navy, Austal and Mobile, and also for Lockheed Martin Corp. and Marinette, Wis., where the other version of the LCS was constructed. But getting the plan approved by Congress before the end of the year proved to be a little dicey.
The bipartisan work of Sens. Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby of Alabama, U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner of Mobile and outgoing U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor of Bay St. Louis, Miss., was instrumental in getting the deal done.
Rep. Taylor sponsored a separate bill to try to ensure that the LCS plan didn’t get lost in the last crush of lame-duck business. Though the needed legislation ultimately was attached to a larger budget bill, Rep. Taylor was working for the best interests of his constituents and the whole region right to the end of his term.
Rep. Bonner was the only Republican in the House to vote for the budget bill, and he caught heat from some GOP colleagues who, concerned about the level of government spending, asked him if he knew what he was doing.
Of course he did. Had Rep. Bonner not voted for the LCS split contract, he would have let down not just his own district, but the whole of south Alabama, south Mississippi, northwest Florida, upper Michigan and upper Wisconsin. All of those places will benefit from Rep. Bonner’s willingness to put them ahead of party politics.
On the Senate side, LCS supporters did whatever arm-twisting was necessary, even overcoming the objections of Sen. John McCain, a powerful critic of the LCS program.
So let’s lift a glass to everyone involved in making 2011 — and beyond — happier and more prosperous all around.