Two billion dollars is a lot of money. But that is just how big an annual impact the U.S. Navy’s operations have on Rhode Island’s economy. And that number is about to grow. (
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Thanks to the results of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act, the Navy is spending roughly $150 million to expand and renovate Naval Station Newport to help accommodate a 74-percent increase in the number of officers being trained there.
There is a lot of credit to go around for Newport having survived the Pentagon’s winnowing process, starting with Gov. Donald L. Carcieri and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, as well as U.S. Representatives Patrick J. Kennedy and James R. Langevin. (Some contend that Mass. Sen. Edward Kennedy also played a role.)
But at least one other former public official also deserves some credit.
According to his upcoming memoir, former U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee believes the Republican leadership in Congress was so concerned he would bolt the party, they threw kisses and bonbons in his direction. Of course, he no longer is in office, but part of his legacy most certainly is doing quite well. •