Lawmakers seek answers on fate of U.S. shipbuilding

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee questioned the Navy’s top civilian official on future shipbuilding plans during a hearing Thursday. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., told Navy Secretary Gordon England the service should consider waiting until the department completes its quadrennial defense strategy review later this year before deciding to reduce its aircraft carrier fleet from 12 to 11 ships as proposed in the Pentagon’s FY06 defense budget.