Senate passes legislation to affect Hampton Roads

It looks like 2014 could be good for the lifeblood of Hampton Roads -- national defense.

Twice in one week the Senate passed legislation that will have a significant impact on both the Pentagon and Hampton Roads. 10 On Your Side's Art Kohn talked with Senator Tim Kaine about the money headed to Hampton Roads.

After being passed 84-15 Thursday night, the National Defense Authorization Act is being hailed as a bipartisan victory. But for Senator Tim Kaine, it was both a personal triumph and a must win for the industrial base in Hampton Roads that supports the military.

The Legislation eased some spending caps that would have impacted work being done on the Gerald R. Ford at Newport News Ship Yard, but more importantly, the deal will eliminate the $20 billion in sequester cuts that were scheduled for 2014.

"Some of the shipbuilding work on the Ford would have had to come to a stop in March, so the combined effect of the budget bill and the National Budget Authorization Act really helps us power forward on the aircraft carriers,” Kaine told WAVY.com.

The legislation will strengthen the region's ship repair business. The navy had already announced plans to cut about 20 ship repair contracts scheduled for the private yards in this region.

"We were going to see a disproportionate effect if those $20 million in cuts went into effect in January,” Kaine said. “Now they will not go into effect, so we expect that's very good news for BAE and the other ship repairers in Hampton Roads."

But the Budget Act also calls for reducing the Cost of Living Adjustments to military retirees' pensions. However, legislation has been introduced in both the House and the Senate to restore COLA funding before the cuts take effect in 2015.

"Both houses want to fix it,” Kaine said. “We do have to come up with a "pay-for-it," but I feel pretty confident that working on Armed Services [committee,] we'll be able to find a fix to that long before it goes into effect.”

Senators Kaine and Warner both sponsored the legislation in the Senate to protect pension adjustments.

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