Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) highlighted the importance of maintaining a robust naval fleet on Tuesday during a House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing.
Crenshaw, a member of the subcommittee, pressed Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert on proposed fleet and aircraft levels in the Navy’s fiscal year 2015 budget request.
“My bottom line (is to) make sure the administration makes national security decisions based on strategic need rather than sacrificing key defense assets to fund its own separate priorities,” Crenshaw said after the hearing. “We need only consider the Ukraine to be reminded that the world is full of threats that must be managed to the best of our ability.”
Crenshaw said fleet and aircraft production levels serve national security objectives.
“That means maintaining (littoral combat ship) production levels, preventing the removal of 11 cruisers from the fleet and making sure P-8 Poseidons, E-2D Hawkeyes, submarines and all other assets are at the levels we need to accomplish Navy and joint missions for decades to come,” Crenshaw said.
Crenshaw previously said that a diverse fleet is needed to serve the Navy’s global presence.
“With a wide presence around the globe that includes the largest carrier fleet in the world, our Navy is a central player, protecting the nation against changing and ever-present threats,” Crenshaw said on March 13. “We need ships like the cruisers and LCS to meet those needs.”