WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kit Bond today called the final defense supplemental bill a big win for Missouri workers.  The bill includes $2.2 billion for C-17 and $500 million for National Guard and Reserve equipment.  The troop funding bill was finalized by the House-Senate Conference Committee last night and filed today.  Before being signed into law the bill must pass both the full House and Senate.

 

“This is an important victory for St. Louis and our nation,” said U.S. Senator Kit Bond. “While this defense budget helps to provide for a safer America, the continued production of the C-17 production will also help maintain jobs in the St. Louis area.”

 

Bond, a member of the House-Senate Conference Committee on the fiscal year 2009 defense supplemental spending bill, and a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, worked with Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) to secure the $2.2 billion for St. Louis-made C-17s in the final bill.  Bond also worked with Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to gain support for the program from 17 other senators. Inclusion of these funds in the final bill is a critical victory for Bond, Feinstein, Boxer and other advocates of the C-17 cargo plane.

 

Since President Obama announced his decision to close our nation’s only large airlift line in production, Bond took the lead in reversing this dangerous gamble with our national security.  Bond has repeatedly stressed that eliminating our only large airlift line in production would have put at risk our capability to transport safely our troops and equipment to anywhere in the world and threaten our domestic industrial base. Bond also vowed to continue to fight for more C-17s in the fiscal year 2010 and future defense budgets to ensure our nation has a reliable and proven heavy airlift capability. Over the last three years, Bond has worked to restore funding to keep the critical C-17 line open and the skilled workforce intact.

 

Bond also joined with Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT) to secure $500 million in the final bill for National Guard and Reserve equipment.  The funds Bond and Leahy secured will help to ensure the National Guard and Reserves have the equipment needed to carry out missions both at home and abroad. 

 

As the missions of the National Guard and Reserve have been expanded in recent years, Bond and Leahy, co-chairs of the Senate National Guard Caucus, have led the fight to increase funding for equipment.  The Guard and Reserve are tasked with responding to natural disasters, domestic emergencies and providing on the ground active duty support overseas.  Despite this expanded role, the Guard and Reserves face drastic equipment shortfalls that threaten their ability to respond to domestic and international emergencies.

 

“It is critical that we provide our citizen-soldiers with the equipment they need to respond to emergencies here at home and overseas,” said Bond.  “This funding is a good start, but over the long run the government needs to start recognizing the dual role mission the Guard and Reserve play in keeping our nation safe.”

 

Bond also supported Congressman Ike Skelton’s (D-MO) successful add of $432.7 million for the upgrade of 24 Apache helicopters at the 1-135^th Missouri Army Guard Aviation Battalion.  These funds will upgrade the Apache Longbow A-Model Helicopters to D-Models – without this upgrade the unit would remain non-deployable.

 

            While the defense supplemental bill includes programs critical to our troops and Missouri workers, Bond expressed his concern with the House Democrats’ decision to remove bipartisan language blocking the release of detainee photos.  Bond, in agreement with Generals Petraeus and Odierno, has strongly opposed releasing the photos of prisoner interrogations, the release of which could put at risk our troops in the field. 

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