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In Case You Missed It, the former president of the Seacoast Shipyard Association, Jim Splaine, called out Governor Chris Sununu on failing to stand up for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard when President Donald Trump threatened to raid it for hundreds of millions of dollars to build a wall along the southern border that he had promised Mexico would pay for.
“But there is so far a crucial voice missing from the bipartisan call for action: Gov. Sununu’s, whose only response has been to call Mr. Trump’s threats to the shipyard funding and our jobs “unfortunate.” I know Chris Sununu politically and personally. He does some good things. But he’s not defending us on this matter, which is quite “unfortunate,” to use his chosen word. He should put Republican politics and a blind loyalty to the current, temporary, occupant of our White House aside, and do what’s right for all of us – he needs to stand up, speak out and take on those Washington powers-who-are in his own party.
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Sununu seems more focused on maintaining a good relationship with Mr. Trump than he does with our shipyard workers and our Seacoast community. But treating the shipyard as a political football and siding with the White House over the men and women who work there is shameful. I remember history, and the past deeds of our leaders. And I think people in our Seacoast community will too.”
Seacoast Online: Protecting Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
By Jim Splaine
During my lifetime in Portsmouth, I have come to know many friends who have worked during the past several decades at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. It is a proud and important gem for our economy, but more critically, it has a vital mission in the defense of our nation as we face unknown and unpredictable international challenges during the rest of this century and beyond.
In the 1990s, during the first round of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, I was president of the Seacoast Shipyard Association, and we brought thousands of people together throughout New Hampshire and Maine to prevent the closing of our the base. We replicated that effort a few years later as another round of military base closures was considered for closure, creating citizen rallies in Kittery and Portsmouth and going to Boston to testify to the commission. The powers-who-are in Washington got the message at that time.
At that time, Democrats and Republicans put politics aside to save the shipyard. We protected both military readiness and the enormous economic benefits of the shipyard for our region. But today, years later, the shipyard faces another grave threat – over $200 million in cuts to pay for Mr. Trump’s border wall – the one he promised us Mexico would pay for.
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is too important to let federal cuts hurt our future defense needs. During the past several weeks, federal leaders of both parties in New Hampshire and Maine have responded to Mr. Trump by coming together to challenge his executive overreach and save our shipyard. If recent updates are true, those efforts have been successful, but with the Trump administration the one constant is inconsistency. We have to always be wary of unexpected changes. He still needs his Build-The-Wall money, and our shipyard funds might be his piggybank.
Moreover, too many of our state’s leaders at the state and local level have not stood up to save our shipyard. It’s easy for them to simply say these potential cuts don’t represent an existential threat to the shipyard. These aren’t their jobs on the line. And, obviously, they’re not looking at the important role our shipyard plays in our nation’s defense.
Our U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, along with Congressman Chris Pappas, went to the shipyard to hear first-hand and up-close-and-personal from the workers whose lives would be affected by these cuts, and they have advocated to save this funding with the White House, the Department of Defense, and any other administration officials they can find.
At the state level, a group of New Hampshire state senators have urged Gov. Chris Sununu to join the federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s unconstitutional emergency declaration as well, citing the potentially disastrous threat it posed to the shipyard.
But there is so far a crucial voice missing from the bipartisan call for action: Gov. Sununu’s, whose only response has been to call Mr. Trump’s threats to the shipyard funding and our jobs “unfortunate.” I know Chris Sununu politically and personally. He does some good things. But he’s not defending us on this matter, which is quite “unfortunate,” to use his chosen word. He should put Republican politics and a blind loyalty to the current, temporary, occupant of our White House aside, and do what’s right for all of us – he needs to stand up, speak out and take on those Washington powers-who-are in his own party.
Strangely, Gov. Sununu seems to be forgetting that last year, Sens. Shaheen and Hassan secured funding for the shipyard operations and improvements. If it weren’t for the unconstitutional executive overreach of Mr. Trump, the hundreds of millions that he is trying to steal would fund the shipyard as planned.
Sununu seems more focused on maintaining a good relationship with Mr. Trump than he does with our shipyard workers and our Seacoast community. But treating the shipyard as a political football and siding with the White House over the men and women who work there is shameful. I remember history, and the past deeds of our leaders. And I think people in our Seacoast community will too.
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