mr. speaker , i rise today in strong support of the emergency wartime supplemental , especially the provision that would postpone reducing the number of navy aircraft carriers from 12 to 11 . 
our nation is at war against global terrorism and reducing the number of aircraft carriers would be a huge blow to our nation 's defense at this very critical time . 
since the end of the cold war , carriers have been kept very busy and have proven their value in numerous operations . 
in this era of uncertain u.s. access to overseas air bases , the value of carriers as sovereign u.s. bases that can operate in international waters , free from political constraints , is particularly significant . 
during the past half century , the carrier force has never dropped below 12 ships , illustrating the enduring need for a force of at least that many ships . 
after experimenting with an `` 11 + 1 '' carrier force in fy1995-fy2000 , dod returned to a force of 12 fully active carriers , suggesting that dod was dissatisfied with a force of less than 12 fully active carriers . 
this provision in the supplemental would effectively delay the decommissioning of the uss kennedy until 6 months after the quadrennial defense review is released . 
the kennedy is based at the mayport naval station near jacksonville , florida . 
aside from concerns of this move striking a blow to national security , the carrier 's retirement would mean an estimated loss of $ 300 million a year to the local economy . 
furthermore , if the kennedy were retired , all of the atlantic fleet 's carriers would be , for some time at least , home ported in a single location . 
this , of course , would not be in the best interest of national security . 
decommissioning the kennedy before the qdr is complete could prove to be a very costly and ill-timed decision . 
the qdr may conclude that a fleet of 12 aircraft carriers is essential to our nation , thus necessitating that the uss kennedy be operational . 
in a time of war , it is unwise to retire an aircraft carrier without knowing whether or not it will be needed . 
mr. speaker , i urge members of congress to carefully examine the effects that retiring the kennedy and reducing the number of carriers would not only have on our nation , but the world at large . 
please join me in supporting the supplemental and the provision that keeps the number of carriers in the navy 's fleet contained therein . 
