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They could pick up the Kennedy for a lot less than $3 billion. It's about 7 years newer than several of the carriers in the US fleet; the Navy had initially planned to use it through at least 2018.

JFK is the third oldest carrier in the fleet. More importantly it never had the Ship Life Extension Program, whic on the basis of the 36½ life of previous non-SLEP ships gives it an expected out of service date of March 2005.

The Kennedy underwent a major overhaul in Philadelphia in 1993-95. The plan was to move it to Japan in 2008 and take the older Kitty Hawk out of service. (On that schedule, the Enterprise was to go out of service in 2013. The Kennedy would then be retired in 2013.)

On the other hand, the Constellation underwent SLEP in the early 90s, but was decommissioned in 2003.

"The 1991 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommended that the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard [PNSY] be closed but acknowledged that PNSY would perform the Service Life Extension Program for the USS. Kennedy from September 1993 until mid-1996. The work on the USS. Kennedy subsequently changed to a 24-month complex overhaul, which Congress required to be performed by PNSY. The Secretary of Defense concurred in this plan in September 1991. KENNEDY completed a two-year comprehensive overhaul in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on September 13, 1995."
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/cv-67.htm

Here's a list that appears to have been put together a few years ago.
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/cv-list.htm