Issa: San Diego is ‘Ideal Choice’ for New White House Office of Shipbuilding

WASHINGTON – Congressman Darrell Issa has written a letter to President Donald Trump to highlight San Diego as a “perfect partner” for the new White House Office of Shipbuilding — which the President announced during his recent message to Congress.

“Your announcement of the creation of a White House Office of Shipbuilding is both timely and farsighted, and this Congress stands ready to make it a lasting reality,” wrote Issa. “As a Representative of the region, San Diego is optimally positioned to be a central partner in this industrial renewal and expansion of maritime greatness. I respectfully request that you and your Administration carefully consider San Diego as an ideal choice for America’s new “maritime opportunity zones.”

Issa also detailed in his letter that more than 80 years ago, “America constructed tens of thousands of vessels that, rebuilt the U.S. Navy, turned the tide of battle in the Pacific, and ushered in a victorious end of World War II.” 

Issa pointed out, however, “that by the 1970s, our nation produced about 15-20 ships per year, a number that fell to as few as five ships in the 1980s – all while our friends and allies around the world had 300-1700 ships in construction per year. This precipitous decline has left the U.S. with inadequate domestic production and a critical shortfall of capability and tonnage capacity, a vulnerability that your Administration is expeditiously addressing.”

Issa concluded by noting: “Mr. President, as you know, past administrations, previous National Defense Strategies, and published U.S. Navy assessments, have long opined about the need for greater emphasis and investment in domestic shipbuilding — but have yet to deliver. With your leadership and the focused effort of your Administration, I am confident that the era of pontificating about the problem is over, and a new age of American maritime greatness is at hand and ahead.”

You can read Rep. Issa’s letter to President Trump here.

Darrell Issa is the Representative of California’s 48th Congressional District, which encompasses the central and eastern parts of San Diego County and a portion of Riverside County, including the communities of Fallbrook, Valley Center, Ramona, Escondido, Santee, Lakeside, Poway, Temecula, Murrieta, and the mountain and desert areas of the San Diego-Imperial County line. Issa served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2011-2015.

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