Unexpected reception: navy aviation industry competes for attention.

• Position: WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY - Brief article

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* Times are tough for carrier aviation. The Navy is struggling with an aging fleet and rising costs--in addition to the possibility that the fleet may temporarily drop from 11 to 10 aircraft carriers in a couple of years. Naval aviation's industry boosters were on Capitol Hill recently seeking to enlist congressional support for aircraft carriers. But when members of the Aircraft Carder Industrial Base Coalition showed up at the Rayburn Office Building, they found that Navy-friendly lawmakers Reps. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., and Roscoe...