Gov. Linda Lingle also is likely to travel to the capital next week to meet with policymakers about the future of the shipyard and about a Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill, which is expected to come before the U.S. Senate.

The nine-member BRAC commission is in charge of reducing the number of U.S. military bases. Hawai'i officials thought Pearl Harbor was spared a few weeks ago when the initial commission report recommended closing Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine instead of Pearl Harbor.

Then, last week, word came that the Pentagon was asking for more information about recommendations that included the Pearl-Harbor-over-Maine decision.

Hannemann said the naval shipyard remains critically important to the state and to Honolulu.

"Pearl Harbor's in my backyard. It's in my city. We can't afford to see any diminution of work at Pearl Harbor," he said.

Hannemann said he'll emphasize that he and the governor join the congressional delegation in agreeing on the crucial importance of the military and welcoming members of the military here.

The key shipyard workers' union also is concerned about what will happen next. But don't expect any sign-waving, protests or even unified T-shirts from members, said Ben Toyama, vice president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which represents most shipyard workers.

The union isn't planning to send a representative to Washington, nor is it planning any other lobbying activity, he said.

"It's best not to overreact to the possibility of being on the list," Toyama said yesterday by phone. "We really feel we don't have a dog in this fight right now."

Because the Pearl shipyard doesn't have a permanent place on the closure list, Toyama said, the best course of action is to ride it out. He also said he is confident in the ability of the congressional delegation, Lingle and Hannemann to lobby for support.

Toyama said he spoke with Hannemann yesterday but didn't discuss details about the trip.

"I know he understands firsthand what we do at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and how important we are to the Department of Defense," Toyama said.

With three-fourths of the state's population on O'ahu, Hannemann said, it's important to work toward larger goals.

"The mayor of Honolulu has got to look at ways to complement what the state does," he said.

While in Washington, Hannemann said, he plans to meet with Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta as well as lend his support to efforts to pass the Akaka bill.

Hannemann also expects to meet with Hawai'i's congressional delegation, whom he described as relieved to see Honolulu taking steps toward transit solutions.

"They're happy as a lark," he said.

Today, the Honolulu City Council is expected to shift some leadership positions, including that of the Transportation Committee.

Councilman Todd Apo will replace Nestor Garcia as head of transportation, but Hannemann and council members said that won't affect the majority support for increasing the excise tax from 4 percent to 4.5 percent to pay for a transit system for Honolulu.

In the first two votes on the matter, the council approved the move 7-2, with both Garcia and Apo voting in support. The third and final vote is expected Aug. 10 when the council meets in Kapolei. Apo said he doesn't expect the leader shift to change the end result of that vote.

He stopped short of flatly endorsing rail as the only solution to traffic congestion.

"I personally am not ready to make the jump and say rail is or isn't the answer," he said.

But he said that doesn't mean his support is fading; it just means he hasn't studied the issue for as many years as some of his colleagues have.

The way the issue is structured this year, the council vote also signals the start of the process to determine what the best system would be. Some transit opponents have criticized that approach as backward.

"I would love to have had the alternatives analysis done by now," Apo said. "The reality, though, is we're not going to have that analysis for 12 to 18 months."