Virginia Sen. Warner doesn't sign letter urging Navy support.(Newport News (Va.) Daily Press)

WASHINGTON _ Virginia Sen. John W. Warner has declined to sign a letter urging President Bush to rebuild the Navy's fleet to at least 360 ships, including 15 aircraft carriers.

In an Aug. 17 letter to Bush, scores of senators and congressmen with shipbuilding interests signed onto a letter designed to highlight the problems of a dwindling fleet as the Pentagon conducts a major review of the armed forces that will guide future defense budgets.

"We urge you to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review reflects the fundamental precept of command of the seas, to ensure America's sovereign power and economic prosperity in the 21st century," the lawmakers wrote.

Among the signatories were Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., a staunch defender of his home state's Ingalls Shipbuilding; Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who tends to the interests of her state's Bath Iron Works; and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate's seapower subcommittee.

About 40 congressmen from shipbuilding districts also signed the letter, including all four Hampton Roads representatives.

But conspicuously absent was Warner, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who normally champions the cause of a strong Navy.

Warner was traveling this week and could not be reached, leaving an aide struggling to explain why a senator who usually fights for Newport News Shipbuilding would not want to go on record in support of more ships.