Senator Cook To Work With R.I. State Senator Dennis Algiere To Protect Regional Interests

Senator Cathy Cook, R-Mystic, said she is profoundly disappointed that U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has included the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton on his list of recommended base closures to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC), but emphasized that the fight to save the submarine base is far from over.

"As everyone including Governor Rell and our Congressional delegation have emphasized, this fight is not over yet. Today's announcement, while profoundly disappointing, is only a preliminary recommendation. Our submarine base was recommended for closure in 1993, yet here we are 12 years later. We made our case for keeping the submarine base open then and, working together, we will succeed in making our case again. The submarine base is critical to our nation's defense, and to our state's economy. We will continue to work together to both remind the federal government of the base's importance, and to make keeping the base open a very attractive option to the military. Today's announcement was a terrible shock to our state, and to southeastern Connecticut, but I am confident that, ultimately, we will save the sub base," said Senator Cook.

Senator Cook said that she and Republican Rhode Island Minority Leader, State Senator Dennis Algiere, whose district includes the nearby Rhode Island communities of Westerly and Charlestown, have promised to work together to protect their mutual regional interests.

Rhode Island State Senator Algiere said: "I fully support Senator Cook's efforts, along those of Governor Rell and Connecticut's Congressional delegation, to remove the Groton submarine base from the BRAC list. I am proud to join with Connecticut to save the submarine base. This preliminary decision is devastating to Rhode Islanders and well as to our Connecticut neighbors. I stand ready to join the fight."

Senator Cook, Senate ranking member of the Commerce Committee and member of the Appropriations Committee, last month joined a bipartisan group of legislators in unveiling a proposal to invest in the base and the Electric Boat shipbuilding yard, and to end the tax on new manufacturing equipment purchased after July 1 st .

"We're talking about $40 million in state bonding over the next two years to incorporate energy efficiencies at the base and at Electric Boat. The legislature is considering several bills designed to improve the quality of life for the thousands of military personnel stationed in Connecticut. Connecticut is very, very serious about keeping our submarine base open, and I see this preliminary BRAC recommendation as a sign that we must work harder to make ourselves heard in Washington. This is too important a fight for Connecticut to lose - so we have to make sure that we do not lose," said Senator Cook.

Following these recommendations by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, BRAC is expected to issue its lists of cuts in September. President Bush and Congress will accept or reject the BRAC recommendations by November 7 th .

"At stake is the defense of our nation and the economic health of our state. The U.S. Submarine Base has long played a role in ensuring our safety and, considering what is going on in the world right now, I cannot think of a worse time to close the base. Closer to home, the defense industry provides about 25,000 jobs to Connecticut residents and does about $2.5 billion worth of business each year. There is absolutely nothing to gain from closing the base and much to lose. That is the message we need Washington to hear, and that is what we will be working very hard to tell them in the months ahead,' said Senator Cook.

Contact Information For R.I. State Senator Dennis L Algiere

401-222-2708 (Providence)