Keel laying for US Navy submarine held in RI

The U.S. Navy has held a keel laying ceremony for a submarine under construction at Electric Boat's Rhode Island manufacturing plant.

Navy officials called the keel laying at Quonset Point a milestone in the construction of the Virginia-class submarine North Dakota.

Electric Boat is a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp. in Falls Church, Va. The company employees more than 10,000 workers at Quonset and Groton, Conn., where the Navy has a submarine base and school.

U.S. Reps. Jim Langevin (LAN'-juh-vinn) of Rhode Island and Joe Courtney of Connecticut have been pushing to prevent a proposed cut in funding for Virginia-class submarine production. The Obama administration's budget funds one, rather than two, in 2014.

The House Armed Services Committee this week passed legislation that would provide funding for two.