Sen. Landrieu and Rep. Richmond Statement on Avondale Progress
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., and U.S. Representative Cedric Richmond, D-La., released the below statement after Huntington Ingalls Industries wrote to the AFL-CIO about future operations at Avondale shipyard. The letter states that operations could include heavy industrial manufacturing for the energy and infrastructure market, commercial shipbuilding for non-government clients or other commercial heavy manufacturing. The letter invites the union to discuss these possibilities and the future of the Avondale shipyard.
Sen. Landrieu and Rep. Richmond, who have been instrumental in the fight to convert the shipyard for other commercial possibilities, will soon meet with President and CEO of Huntington Ingalls, Mike Petters, to discuss the future of the facility.
"We were encouraged to hear that Huntington Ingalls continues to aggressively pursue alternatives for Avondale. Throughout this process we have fought to keep Avondale open for business to ensure that our highly skilled shipbuilders can continue to contribute to our economy and national security. We look forward to meeting very soon with Mike Petters to discuss the future of the shipyard and working with him on continued progress," said Sen. Landrieu and Rep. Richmond.
After months of pressing the Department of the Navy to keep Avondale open, last year Sen. Landrieu and Rep. Richmond received confirmation from the Navy that any federal funds provided for the closure and conversion of the Avondale Shipyard could be used for partnerships designed to bring more work to the facility.
Previous interpretations of the Federal Acquisition Regulations indicated that money identified for closure and conversion costs would only be given to the owners of Avondale Shipyard upon closure of the facility. This assurance from the Navy allowed Huntington Ingalls to apply these costs to conversion of the yard for commercial purposes while pursuing different opportunities to keep Louisiana's shipbuilders employed.
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