NEWPORT NEWS, Va., March 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) hosted U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott, D-Va., Rob Wittman, R-Va., Elaine Luria, D-Va., and Denver Riggleman, R-Va., on Friday for a tour of the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division.
“We are pleased that our congressional partners took time out of their busy schedules to visit our shipyard,” said Jennifer Boykin, president of Newport News Shipbuilding. “We welcomed the opportunity to reconnect with Representatives Scott and Wittman, who have supported us for many years, and engage our newest lawmakers, Representatives Luria and Riggleman. We look forward to working with them and hope they walked away with a better understanding of the skill and craftsmanship it takes to build our nation’s warships and the pride that our shipbuilders feel about our important work.”
A photo accompanying this release is available at: https://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/file?fid=5c8ff7a92cfac24e32a76545.
The Virginia delegation met with shipbuilders and discussed the shipyard’s priorities and current work load, including the post-shakedown availability of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the construction of John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of USS George Washington (CVN 73), the construction of Virginia-class submarines and the maintenance of Los Angeles-class submarines.
“It is always an honor to meet with our local shipbuilders to see firsthand the work they are doing on behalf of our Navy,” said Scott, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “With the national security challenges we face around the world, it is more important than ever that we make smart and sustained investments in shipbuilding and ship maintenance programs.”
Wittman, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is the ranking member of the House Armed Services’ Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, said, “Our shipyards, both private and public, are critical to supporting the maintenance capacity requirements of a 355-ship Navy, including 12 aircraft carriers—the number our Navy says it needs to carry out its operational plan.
“Huntington Ingalls is essential in this effort as they build our nuclear-powered carriers and provide mid-life overhauls to extend the service life of our carriers,” Wittman continued. “Keeping refueling and complex overhauls (RCOH) on schedule and advanced procurement funded properly is necessary to meet combatant commander’s demand for carrier strike groups. My Virginia colleagues and I were able to see the USS Ford, the Navy’s newest carrier, along with Virginia-class submarine construction—another critical naval asset built in the commonwealth.”
Additionally, the congressmen toured construction and production facilities and saw many of the capital investment projects and digital transformation efforts underway at the shipyard.
Luria and Riggleman, who served in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, respectively, said that meeting shipbuilders helped them better understand the role the shipbuilding industry plays in the economy and the workforce.
“It’s always good for lawmakers to tour businesses that impact the economy and support our military, and I learned so much from our bipartisan visit last week,” said Luria, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, where she is the vice chair of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. “After serving on ships in many shipyards, the promise of increased efficiency and improved quality in the design, construction and repair of ships is incredible. These tools will help our local workforce build smarter and faster.”
Riggleman, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said, “Newport News Shipbuilding is a major employer in Virginia, and I was happy to join members of the Virginia delegation in touring the facility. I was impressed with Newport News’ commitment to their employees and their investment in workforce training. Taking this tour with a bipartisan group of Virginians shows that the Virginia way is still alive and we can find common ground across the aisle.”
Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII’s Technical Solutions division provides a wide range of professional services through its Fleet Support, Mission Driven Innovative Solutions, Nuclear & Environmental, and Oil & Gas groups. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs more than 40,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit:
- HII on the web: www.huntingtoningalls.com
- HII on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HuntingtonIngallsIndustries
- HII on Twitter: twitter.com/hiindustries
Contact:
Beci Brenton
Beci.brenton@hii-co.com
(202) 264-7143