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2016 SESSION

16104084D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 220
Offered January 28, 2016
Commending Newport News Shipbuilding.
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Patrons-- Yancey, Austin, Bloxom, Carr, Collins, Fowler, Garrett, Helsel, Hodges, James, Kilgore, Mason, Pillion, Pogge, Price, Rasoul, Ward and Webert; Senator: Norment
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WHEREAS, for 130 years, Newport News Shipbuilding has served the United States as a critical component of national defense capabilities and grown to become the largest industrial employer in the Commonwealth, providing livelihood for generations of families in Hampton Roads; and

WHEREAS, Newport News Shipbuilding was founded in 1886 by Collis P. Huntington to repair ships serving the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad hub in Newport News; the shipyard produced its first ship, a tugboat, in 1891 and had completed three warships for the United States Navy by 1897; and

WHEREAS, in the early years of Newport News Shipbuilding’s storied history, the company built strong relationships with the Hampton Roads community, and many prominent figures at the company also served as civic leaders; one of the nation’s first planned communities, Hilton Village, was built to house shipyard workers in 1918; and

WHEREAS, between 1907 and 1923, Newport News Shipbuilding built six of the United States Navy’s fleet of 22 dreadnoughts, all but one of which remained in active service at the start of World War II; in the inter-war period, the shipyard also produced multiple destroyers and aircraft carriers, as well as ocean liners; and

WHEREAS, during World War II, Newport News Shipbuilding ably responded to the government’s request for ships through the Emergency Shipbuilding Program; the shipyard produced 243 ships, including 186 Liberty Ships, earning the United States Navy’s E pennant for excellence in shipbuilding; and

WHEREAS, after the war, Newport News Shipbuilding built the famous passenger liner SS United States, which holds a long-standing trans-Atlantic speed record; the shipyard also contributed to a prototype nuclear propulsion system and launched its first nuclear-powered submarine; and

WHEREAS, in the 1970s, Newport News Shipbuilding launched two of the largest tankers in the world and constructed the largest liquefied natural gas carriers ever built in the United States; as of 1999, the shipyard only produces ships for the United States Navy, focusing on nuclear-powered carriers and submarines, as well as warship overhaul projects; and

WHEREAS, Newport News Shipbuilding is currently a division of the Northrop Grumman spin-off, Huntington Ingalls Industries; before it was purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2001, Newport News Shipbuilding was the largest privately owned shipyard in the United States; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Newport News Shipbuilding on the occasion of its 130th anniversary of continuous operation; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Newport News Shipbuilding as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for the company’s contributions to Hampton Roads, the Commonwealth, and the nation.