HOUSE COLLEAGUES JOIN JONES TO URGE SENATE SUPPORT FOR HOUSE POSITION ON RENAMING DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

In a letter this week to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner and Ranking Member Carl Levin, Congressman Walter B. Jones (R-NC) and 21 House colleagues urged the Senate leaders to retain Section 905 of H.R. 5122, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, that would designate the Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps and change the title of its Secretary to Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps. Rep. Jones, the author of Section 905, has long been an advocate of providing formal recognition of the Marine Corps’ status as an equal partner with the Navy. Twelve of the letter’s 22 bipartisan co-signors, including Rep. Jones, are members of the House Armed Services Committee. They are Reps. Gene Taylor (D-MS), John Hostettler (R-IN), Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Mike McIntyre (D-NC), Tom Cole (R-OK), Susan Davis (D-CA), John Kline (R-MN) and Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU). Other co-signors include Reps. Gil Gutknecht (R-MN), James McGovern (D-MA), Vito Fossella (R-NY), Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Sue Myrick (R-NC), Charles Gonzalez (D-TX), Ron Paul (R-TX), William Delahunt (D-MA), Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Allyson Schwartz (D-PA). “The Marine Corps is steeped in tradition, but historically, those traditions are in concert with the Navy. Congress previously declared that there are four branches of the military, however, there are only three departments. Section 905 would finally repair this inequity,” the letter states. “The Department of the Navy is the nation’s ‘sea-service,’ combining the lethality of the Marine Corps’ amphibious assault force with the power of the Navy’s commanding fleet,” the letter continues. “It is often said that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; never before has the cohesion between these two been so exemplary. That level of unity is an invaluable asset to the security of our nation and that of our allies and Americans abroad.” “We believe the time has come to identify the Department of the Navy for what it is, the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps. The Marines fighting today deserve this recognition, and redesignating the service would be the most appropriate way to recognize them,” the letter concludes. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 awaits negotiations in conference committee and will be finalized this fall. For additional information or to schedule an interview with Congressman Walter B. Jones please contact Kathleen Joyce at (202) 225-3415.