December 06, 2012
Mansfield News Journal: Portman-Secured "Strategic Pause is 'Great News'" for Mansfield
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Mansfield News Journal highlighted Sen. Rob Portman’s success in fighting to save the 800 jobs at Mansfield-Lahm Air National Guard Base and the C-27J mission. Portman (R-OH), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was able, during committee process, to stop the Obama Administration’s planned termination of the mission.
Excerpts of the article included below. Actual article can be found here. On May 24th, the Portman-secured language passed the Senate Armed Services Committee, and just this week, the Senate passed the Defense Authorization bill, with the strategic pause included. You can read more about Portman’s work balancing the needs of our troops and our security with an ever more challenging fiscal environment here.
Mansfield News Journal
Strategic pause is 'great news'
179th commander hopes to keep planes a year
By Lou Whitmire, December 6, 2012
MANSFIELD — Col. Gary McCue, commander of the 179th Airlift Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard, called it “great news” when a Senate bill was approved Tuesday that would allow another year of existence for the base’s C-27J mission.
The bill will head to a conference with the House. After coming out of conference, the measure will again have to pass the House and the Senate, according to Sen. Rob Portman’s office.
Tuesday, the Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Authorization bill, which includes a “strategic pause” for the Air Force proposal to end the C-27J flying mission at Mansfield. McCue said the 179th now can move ahead with transitioning from contract maintenance employees maintaining the airplanes to Air Force members working on the 179th’s planes.
Local officials say there are almost 800 jobs in the community tied to the C-27J.
“We call that blue-suit maintenance and that has been our No. 1 morale buster,” McCue said. “The contract maintenance people do a great job. But our guys are standing around doing nothing.
“We’re very excited and grateful for our Congressional leadership. Without their help this could not have been possible. We thank all our leaders in Ohio, local, state and federal leaders. It worked because of the support we received in this community. We just have to hang tough. It’s all those thousands of letters people wrote to their Congress people in support of the 179th. I think we’re up to more than 25,000.”
Portman blasted the president while issuing his support for the C-27J.
“Ever since President Obama proposed killing the C-27J mission for the 800 courageous Ohio National Guardsmen of the 179th Airlift Wing, it has been nearly impossible to get a straight answer on the administration’s plans and any details about how they promise to replace the mission,” the Republican senator from Cincinnati said. “Time and again, this impressive air cargo plane has proved itself and demonstrated its critical capability, whether serving in combat in Afghanistan or helping out with the response to the devastating flooding Hurricane Sandy brought to the East Coast.”
The Air Force, which originally proposed to end the C-27J program without replacement in February, released a revised budget in November that would swap the C-27J planes for C-130 cargo planes.
Portman has for months argued the C-27J is much more cost-effective than the C-130 cargo plane.
“In numerous Senate Armed Services Committee hearings with the Army and Air Force and many detailed meetings to review the administration’s budget proposal over the past year, it’s clear that the award-winning C-27J fills an important mission for the country, is the right mission for Mansfield, and should not be mothballed,” he said.
…
According to the Army News, the White House is threatening to veto the bill over changes made on the floor involving terrorist detainee procedures. Those regulations would prohibit the Defense Department from spending any funds to transfer prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison to the United States.
Excerpts of the article included below. Actual article can be found here. On May 24th, the Portman-secured language passed the Senate Armed Services Committee, and just this week, the Senate passed the Defense Authorization bill, with the strategic pause included. You can read more about Portman’s work balancing the needs of our troops and our security with an ever more challenging fiscal environment here.
Mansfield News Journal
Strategic pause is 'great news'
179th commander hopes to keep planes a year
By Lou Whitmire, December 6, 2012
MANSFIELD — Col. Gary McCue, commander of the 179th Airlift Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard, called it “great news” when a Senate bill was approved Tuesday that would allow another year of existence for the base’s C-27J mission.
The bill will head to a conference with the House. After coming out of conference, the measure will again have to pass the House and the Senate, according to Sen. Rob Portman’s office.
Tuesday, the Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Authorization bill, which includes a “strategic pause” for the Air Force proposal to end the C-27J flying mission at Mansfield. McCue said the 179th now can move ahead with transitioning from contract maintenance employees maintaining the airplanes to Air Force members working on the 179th’s planes.
Local officials say there are almost 800 jobs in the community tied to the C-27J.
“We call that blue-suit maintenance and that has been our No. 1 morale buster,” McCue said. “The contract maintenance people do a great job. But our guys are standing around doing nothing.
“We’re very excited and grateful for our Congressional leadership. Without their help this could not have been possible. We thank all our leaders in Ohio, local, state and federal leaders. It worked because of the support we received in this community. We just have to hang tough. It’s all those thousands of letters people wrote to their Congress people in support of the 179th. I think we’re up to more than 25,000.”
Portman blasted the president while issuing his support for the C-27J.
“Ever since President Obama proposed killing the C-27J mission for the 800 courageous Ohio National Guardsmen of the 179th Airlift Wing, it has been nearly impossible to get a straight answer on the administration’s plans and any details about how they promise to replace the mission,” the Republican senator from Cincinnati said. “Time and again, this impressive air cargo plane has proved itself and demonstrated its critical capability, whether serving in combat in Afghanistan or helping out with the response to the devastating flooding Hurricane Sandy brought to the East Coast.”
The Air Force, which originally proposed to end the C-27J program without replacement in February, released a revised budget in November that would swap the C-27J planes for C-130 cargo planes.
Portman has for months argued the C-27J is much more cost-effective than the C-130 cargo plane.
“In numerous Senate Armed Services Committee hearings with the Army and Air Force and many detailed meetings to review the administration’s budget proposal over the past year, it’s clear that the award-winning C-27J fills an important mission for the country, is the right mission for Mansfield, and should not be mothballed,” he said.
…
According to the Army News, the White House is threatening to veto the bill over changes made on the floor involving terrorist detainee procedures. Those regulations would prohibit the Defense Department from spending any funds to transfer prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison to the United States.
