Will Department of Navy get a name change?
Happy Tuesday! The House is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a bill that has more cosponsors than any other in Congressional history -- but will likely die once again in the Senate.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2010/05/will_department_of_navy_get_a.html
Ed O'Keefe
May 4, 2010, Updated 9:59 a.m. ET
For years Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) has pushed Congress to change the name of the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps, arguing Marines deserve equal recognition after serving besides sailors for two decades. The bill has at least 426, according to his office.
“Receiving so many cosponsors is definitely an accomplishment,” said Jones, “but this fight will not be over until those three words are added to the Department of the Navy. Hopefully the Senate will support this cause as much as the House has and we can finally give the Marines the acknowledgment and respect that they deserve.”
If it passes the House, it has at least five sponsors in the Senate: Sens. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.). But it has key three opponents: Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) (a former sailor) Jim Webb (D-Va.) (a former Marine) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
McCain tells The Hill that he doesn't support the bill and Webb said, "I did not have any problem being a Marine serving in the Department of the Navy.” Levin said he didn't think his committee “will have time to look at that issue again.” Others have raised concerns about the potential costs of changing military letterhead, but Jones says those costs would be minimal.
So is it time for a name change or should Congress leave things as they are?