Essex, CT - Janet Peckinpaugh, Republican candidate for Congress in the 2nd District, today said that Congress must protect the Groton Submarine Base at all costs.
“The sub base directly impacts thousands of jobs across Connecticut and contributes nearly $3 billion to Connecticut’s economy; closing it is simply not an option” Peckinpaugh said.
In 2005, the Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) removed the submarine base from the list of base closures, saving tens of thousands of jobs. Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), a member of the bipartisan deficit reduction commission, said a new BRAC may need to be put in place to deal with the mounting federal deficit.
“As the Congressman from Eastern Connecticut, I will work day and night to ensure that the Submarine base is not part of any planned or contemplated military base closing. The sub base is simply too important to eastern Connecticut’s economy, and too many people depend on the sub base for their livelihood” said Peckinpaugh.
“Unfortunately, Senator Gregg’s comments ring all too true. The primary reason that the sub base would even be considered for closing is because of the actions taken by Joe Courtney in supporting hundreds of billions of dollars of new spending, championed by President Barak Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which have caused the federal deficit to explode. The fact that the sub base might even be considered for closure must be laid directly at the feet of Congressman Joe Courtney, and his democratic colleagues in Washington” continued Peckinpaugh.
“Eastern Connecticut needs a Congressman who is prepared to make the tough spending reduction decisions. We can no longer afford the massive spending programs that Courtney, Pelosi and the President keep foisting upon us. Because of Joe Courtney’s blind allegiance to his party, and his failure to represent the interest of the people of eastern Connecticut, we may now, once again, have to fight to save our sub base, and the thousands of jobs the sub base supports in Connecticut," concluded Peckinpaugh.
