Today, Congressman Mike Turner (OH-3) announced that House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (CA-25) will be visiting Wright-Patterson Air Force Base with him on Saturday (12/3/11). Turner, who leads the panel’s Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, invited the Chairman to visit the key base.
“The effects of sequestration and the supercommittee’s failure will be felt across Ohio and especially at Wright-Patt. After helping to grow the base by 7,000 jobs since arriving in Congress, I cannot stand by while these cuts eliminate jobs key to the national security of our country. I am honored to have Chairman McKeon join me on Saturday in visiting Wright-Patt and touring the facilities first hand,” said Turner.
As a result of the supercommittee’s failure, Defense Department funding will be subject to $500 billion in cuts. Across Ohio estimates show that over 1,000 uniformed service members are set to lose their jobs, while over 6,000 Defense Department Ohio civilian personnel could lose theirs. These job losses will likely come from Wright-Patt, the largest single site employer in Ohio.
“Over half of deficit reduction efforts so far have come out of America's military. If we are unable to mitigate these sequestration cuts, our armed forces will contribute over a trillion dollars to deficit reduction, more than any other single sector of our government. These cuts come not because the threats to our freedom have reduced or because the world has become a safer place, but because Washington has put math ahead of strategy. Cuts this deep have an impact well beyond the corridors of the Pentagon. As I travel from base to base, hearing from the men and women who make it their life's work to keep America safe, I learn more about how damaging these cuts truly are. I look forward to hearing from the Wright-Patterson community on Saturday,” said Chairman McKeon.
During the visit, Turner and McKeon will tour Wright-Patt and its facilities, including the National Air and Space Intelligence Center and Unmanned Aerial Systems development at the Air Force Research Lab. The base is home to over 27,000 employees and covers over 11 square miles of land.