U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi paid a visit to Naval Base San Diego Monday as she seeks to get a closer look at the needs of the U.S. Navy.
The San Diego stop wraps up Pelosi’s three-week international trip, which included stops in Japan, Korea and Guam.
The California Congresswoman wants to assess the Navy’s requirements as it rebalances resources in the Pacific, positioning 60 percent of its fleet in the world’s biggest ocean.
“Coming full circle as to how we are repositioning toward Asia, re-balancing toward Asia and our role that the state of California places in that, and of course the role that our military and all the services play,” said Pelosi.
She joined fellow U.S. Representatives Susan Davis and Scott Peters -- both of whom are on the Armed Services Committee -- along with Congressman Juan Vargas, who represents the district where Naval Base San Diego is located.
They met with Vice Admiral Thomas Rowden, the commander of the Naval Surface Forces, as well as representatives of the Fleet and Family Services, which assists Navy families.
The focus was on the needs of the Navy moving forward, the possibility of sequestration toward the end of this year and other budget issues.
"The issue of sequestration is one that everybody was in agreement on," said Pelosi. "We cannot go down that path again. We have to stop. We have to come to some other kind of budget agreement because that is not in furtherance of our national security."
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With Fleet and Family Services, the politicians talked about better opportunities for spouses. The military group wants to make it easier for military spouses to qualify for certain jobs through federal requirements that would be valid state to state. Standard teaching credentials would be an example.
“If our sailors out at sea think that there is something wrong at home, they can't perform their jobs,” said Danielle Grayhart, a Navy wife and Ombudsman. “They rely on us and Ombudsman and Fleet and Family Services so they know there is somebody their families can go to to have their backs.”
Following the meetings, Pelosi and the Congressional members toured USS Coronado, one of the Navy's newest combat ships.
