Close

NEW REPORT: Raid on Military Construction Funds Backed by Senate Republicans “Poses Various National Security Risks for the U.S. Armed Forces”

GOP Senators’ reckless vote to uphold sham emergency declaration means critical safety and preparedness projects “may be set back a year or more

A new report prepared by the U.S. Air Force reveals that Senate Republicans’ failure to stand up to President Trump’s sham emergency declaration is not only threatening military projects in their home states, it’s also putting servicemembers and our national security at risk. After Republicans refused to oppose the administration’s cash grab on military installations, this nonpartisan report shows that they are also complicit in raiding funds from critical projects to protect American military personnel across the country and around the world – with “no guarantee the funds will automatically be backfilled.”

“By enabling the White House’s reckless diversion of funding from military projects, Senate Republicans have put partisan politics in Washington over the safety of American servicemembers and jeopardized our national security in the process,” said DSCC spokesperson Stewart Boss. “This report makes clear that the dozens of Air Force construction projects losing funding could lead to national security risks for America and our men and women in uniform, and it’s a potent reminder of how far these spineless Senate Republicans will go to fall in line behind President Trump.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

NBC News: Trump’s plan to pay for border wall with Air Force funds risks national security, report says

Courtney Kube

September 13, 2019

Key Points:

  • President Donald Trump’s plan to pay for his proposed border wall by taking funds from more than four dozen Air Force military construction projects poses various national security risks for the U.S. armed forces, according to a report compiled by the U.S. Air Force.
  • The report, obtained by NBC News, details the importance of each of the 51 military projects chosen by the Trump administration to lose their funding, including construction of a new gate to address a growing security concern at an overseas U.S. base, projects to build facilities to safely store more than $1 billion in munitions overseas, and even replacing a boiler whose failure is “imminent” and could cause the evacuation of an entire base in Alaska.
  • At Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, the entry-control point at the main gate is “degrading and not properly configured to provide proper protection for pedestrian and vehicle passage,” the Air Force report says, adding there has been a “higher threat environment” there since the U.S. began operating in Syria.
  • The base has been at a heightened level of force protection since July 2015.
  • In the Pacific region, money for a project to build facilities to store more than $1 billion in munitions at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam was diverted to the wall, endangering the largest munitions stockpile in the region, according to the report.
  • At Eielsen Air Force Base in Alaska, a boiler failure at a facility that provides all electrical power and steam heat for the base is “imminent,” the report says. With temperatures as low as 65 degrees below zero, a failure would be devastating to facilities and the missions housed by them within hours.” The base would be forced to evacuate within hours and once closed “would freeze and require millions of dollars of repair to return to usable conditions.”
  • There is no guarantee the funds will automatically be backfilled, according to a congressional official and a U.S. defense official. The congressional official said the projects may be set back a year or more.
  • One of the major areas affected were military construction projects supporting the European Defense Initiative, a program intended to increase U.S. military presence in Europe to deter Russian aggression. In some cases, without the construction projects, the bases identified as part of the initiative cannot support the deployment of U.S. airmen or assets.
  • Roughly $1.8 billion will be taken from projects in the continental United States and $1.8 billion from projects overseas.

Read the full story here.

###

Next Post

One Day After Claiming She’d Do the Opposite, Collins Casts Deciding Vote to Allow Trump’s Multimillion-Dollar Raid on Military Projects

Stay Connected


DSCC and MT Dems Applaud Montana Supreme Court Decision Striking Down Four Voter Suppression Laws

16 hrs Ago

ago on Twitter

Close

Defend Our Democratic
Senate Majority


Sign up to receive text updates. By participating, you consent to receive recurring committee & fundraising messages from the DSCC, including automated text messages. Msg & Data rates may apply. Privacy Policy & ToS.

or