Panetta Pledges Support For Defense Contractors

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says he’s committed to retaining critical skills in the defense industry, but he says disastrous cuts could result from a failure of deficit reduction talks. As WNPR’s Harriet Jones reports, Panetta spoke to employees at Groton shipyard Electric Boat.

Panetta told Congress earlier this week that the Joint Strike Fighter program and thousands of Connecticut jobs could be at risk if the so-called super committee fails to come up with a deficit plan and automatic recissions are triggered. In Connecticut Thursday, he toured the Virginia class submarine Mississippi, currently under construction, and then addressed a crowd of employees at Electric Boat.

“If we face a major crisis, I’ve got to mobilize. I can’t mobilize without an industrial base. And I don’t have an industrial base unless I’ve got workers who have the skills to make the things that we need. So all of that is part of our national defense.”

Panetta has also previously said that additional defense cuts would mean a reduction in the number of Ohio class replacement subs currently being designed by EB. Panetta issued this plea to the super committee.

“I have men and women that put their lives on the line every day – that are willing to die for America, that are willing to sacrifice for America. And if they’re willing to do that, it’s not asking too much for the leaders of this country to sacrifice just a little bit to find the solutions to our problems.”

Union leaders at EB said they believe the visit reinforced to the defense secretary the importance of the skilled workforce at the Groton yard.

“Our future is hinging on the next couple of months.”

Ken Delacruz is President of the Metal Trades Council. He says he’s closely watching the fate of the recently ramped up Virginia class program.

“That two ships a year level-loads our workload so we don’t have these horrible layoffs and recalls and that type of situation, so we’re very concerned.”

Second District Congressman Joe Courtney, who accompanied the Secretary of Defense on his tour says even if a deficit agreement is reached, defense cuts are still a given, and it’s significant that Panetta chose to come to Groton.

“The fact is there’s still going to be competition within the Pentagon in terms of how they rank different weapons platforms, different systems, and so for him to be able to see this up close, it makes a much more powerful impression than any arguments you could make down in Washington in a committee hearing.”

Defense contractors big and small will be watching closely as the super committee nears its deadline.

For WNPR, I'm Harriet Jones.