WASHINGTON — Congress honored Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard today by adopting a resolution on a voice vote commemorating the shipyard's 100 years of service.

"It is my honor to represent the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in the Congress … and to congratulate the men and women who provide such exceptional service to our nation," said Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, a sponsor of the resolution.

The shipyard dates from 1908 when Congress authorized construction of a coaling and repair station at the harbor, the resolution says

After the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to start America's involvement in World War II, the shipyard's workers earned the motto, "We keep them fit to fight," the resolution says.

"They resurrected the U.S. Pacific Fleet from the mud at the bottom of Pearl Harbor, performed miraculous repairs that helped turn the tide of the war at the Battle of Midway and maintained the Navy that would ultimately sail triumphantly into Tokyo Bay," the resolution says.

Since then, the shipyard — the largest shipyard between the West Coast and the Far East — has supported space exploration, Antarctic expeditions and national missile defense.

Pearl Harbor shipyard also is the largest industrial employer in Hawai'i with a economic impact of more that $600 million annually in the "Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard is a national asset and an important source of high quality jobs for the people in Hawai'i," said Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai'i, a sponsor of the resolution. "I am especially proud of the work they do to reach out to our young people."

Hirono said that partnering with island schools through robotics and apprentice programs and reach out to local colleges and universities, "the shipyard will continue to succeed in developing a skilled workforce for the 21st century."