Barber calls on Obama to save A-10

While the rest of Arizona’s Congressional delegation sits back and watches as the people of Southern Arizona scramble do what little they can to save the A-10, and by extension; Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Representative Ron Barber has stepped his fight for the plane. In what should serve as a clarion call to the entire nation; Barber has gathered a bipartisan handful of colleagues to ask President Obama to intervene.

The 355th Fighter Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base flies 82 of the planes and trains the next generation of A-10 pilots.

Barber and New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte have fought on every level to secure continued funding for the A-10, an aircraft that plays a crucial role in protecting soldiers and Marines on the ground. Two pieces of legislation are being forwarded to ensure that the A-10 does not go away until there is legitimately something in place to replace it. In the Senate, current sponsors/cosponsors of S.1764 are Senators Ayotte, Blunt, Crapo, McCaskill, Graham, Isakson, and Baldwin. In the House, current sponsors/cosponsors of HR.3657 are representatives Barber, Bishop, Hartzler, Kingston, Miller, Scott, and Shea-Porter.

In a letter to the president, Barber and his colleagues wrote: “As you prepare the budget for fiscal year 2015, we strongly recommend and ask that you fully fund the operation, maintenance and upgrade of the A-10 Thunderbolt II. Full funding will ensure this proven workhorse continues to fly and provide unmatched support to our men and women on the frontlines.”

“The A-10 is solid, reliable and inexpensive to maintain,” Barber wrote in his letter to the president. “It flies low and at slow speeds, providing unique and punishing firepower at extremely close distances with a durability that can take incoming fire in the hottest of battlefields and return home to fight another day.”

New electronics have been installed on A-10s and over the past few years, the Air Force began installing new wings on all the planes. The rewinging has been completed on all A-10s based at D-M. The new wings and electronics were touted as cost-effective ways to extend the life of the planes until at least 2028.

The letter reads:

February 6, 2014

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama:

As you prepare the budget for fiscal year 2015, we strongly recommend and ask that you fully fund the operation, maintenance and upgrade of the A-10 Thunderbolt II. Full funding will ensure this proven workhorse continues to fly and provide unmatched support to our men and women on the frontlines. If the Air Force were to divest itself of the Warthog, it would create a critical capability gap that cannot be bridged in the near future.

The A-10 is unsurpassed in its ability to provide close-air combat support for service members on the ground. In Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the A-10 performed nearly one third of the combat sorties. The A-10 is solid, reliable and inexpensive to maintain. It flies low and at slow speeds, providing unique and punishing firepower at extremely close distances with a durability that can take incoming fire in the hottest of battlefields and return home to fight another day. While derided by some as a single role aircraft, the A-10 is a proven asset in combat search and rescue missions and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

We are cognizant of the significant budgetary pressures the Air Force faces; however our national security and the protection of our service members in combat areas must be paramount as we consider the needs of the Department of Defense. There is no clear replacement for the A-10 at this time, and once cut, the institutional knowledge of the community of close air support specialists will be lost and difficult to rebuild.

The reported projected savings from the divestment of the A-10 fleet are small compared to the budgetary cuts the Air Force must make. To increase the risks to our ground troops and pilots in the air without significant budgetary savings and a viable replacement on hand is extremely difficult to justify to our service members and the taxpayers. We look forward to working with you and the Department of Defense to find reasonable and intelligent solutions to our fiscal problems, while continuing to support the core components of our nation’s combat power.

Thank you for your consideration of our request.

Sincerely,

RON BARBER
Member of Congress

ROB BISHOP
Member of Congress

EMANUEL CLEAVER II
Member of Congress

CAROL SHEA-PORTER
Member of Congress

VICKY HARTZLER
Member of Congress

CHRIS STEWART
Member of Congress

Get your representatives to co-sponsor the A-10 bills:

Senate contact numbers are:

Alexander, Lamar (TN)(202) 224-4944

Ayotte, Kelly (NH)(202) 224-3324

Baldwin, Tammy (WI)(202) 224-5653

Barrasso, John (WY)(202) 224-6441

Baucus, Max (MT)(202) 224-2651

Begich, Mark (AK)(202) 224-3004

Bennet, Michael F. (CO)(202) 224-5852

Blumenthal, Richard (CT)(202) 224-2823

Blunt, Roy (MO)(202) 224-5721

Booker, Cory A. (NJ)(202) 224-3224

Boozman, John (AR)(202) 224-4843

Boxer, Barbara (CA)(202) 224-3553

Brown, Sherrod (OH)(202) 224-2315

Burr, Richard (NC)(202) 224-3154

Cantwell, Maria (WA)(202) 224-3441

Cardin, Benjamin L. (MD)(202) 224-4524

Carper, Thomas R. (DE)(202) 224-2441

Casey, Robert P., Jr. (PA)(202) 224-6324

Chambliss, Saxby (GA)(202) 224-3521

Coats, Daniel (IN)(202) 224-5623

Coburn, Tom (OK)(202) 224-5754

Cochran, Thad (MS) (202) 224-5054

Collins, Susan M. (ME) (202) 224-2523

Coons, Christopher A. (DE) (202) 224-5042

Corker, Bob (TN) (202) 224-3344

Cornyn, John (TX)(202) 224-2934

Crapo, Mike (ID)(202) 224-6142

Cruz, Ted (TX)(202) 224-5922

Donnelly, Joe (IN)(202) 224-4814

Durbin, Richard J. (IL)(202) 224-2152

Enzi, Michael B. (WY)(202) 224-3424

Feinstein, Dianne (CA)(202) 224-3841

Fischer, Deb (NE)(202) 224-6551

Flake, Jeff (AZ)(202) 224-4521

Franken, Al (MN)(202) 224-5641

Gillibrand, Kirsten E. (NY)(202) 224-4451

Graham, Lindsey (SC)(202) 224-5972

Grassley, Chuck (IA)(202) 224-3744

Hagan, Kay R. (NC)(202) 224-6342

Harkin, Tom (IA)(202) 224-3254

Hatch, Orrin G. (UT)(202) 224-5251

Heinrich, Martin (NM)(202) 224-5521

Heitkamp, Heidi (ND)(202) 224-2043

Heller, Dean (NV)(202) 224-6244

Hirono, Mazie K. (HI)(202) 224-6361

Hoeven, John (ND)(202) 224-2551

Inhofe, James M. (OK)(202) 224-4721

Isakson, Johnny (GA)(202) 224-3643

Johanns, Mike (NE)(202) 224-4224

Johnson, Ron (WI)(202) 224-5323

Johnson, Tim (SD)(202) 224-5842

Kaine, Tim (VA)(202) 224-4024

King, Angus S., Jr. (ME)(202) 224-5344

Kirk, Mark (IL)(202) 224-2854

Klobuchar, Amy (MN)(202) 224-3244

Landrieu, Mary L. (LA)(202) 224-5824

Leahy, Patrick J. (VT)(202) 224-4242

Lee, Mike (UT)(202) 224-5444

Levin, Carl (MI)(202) 224-6221

Manchin, Joe, (WV)(202) 224-3954

Markey, Edward J. (MA)(202) 224-2742

McCain, John (AZ)(202) 224-2235

McCaskill, Claire (MO)(202) 224-6154

McConnell, Mitch (KY)(202) 224-2541

Menendez, Robert (NJ)(202) 224-4744

Merkley, Jeff (OR)(202) 224-3753

Mikulski, Barbara A. (MD)(202) 224-4654

Moran, Jerry (KS)(202) 224-6521

Murkowski, Lisa (AK)(202) 224-6665

Murphy, Christopher (CT)(202) 224-4041

Murray, Patty (WA)(202) 224-2621

Nelson, Bill (FL)(202) 224-5274

Paul, Rand (KY)(202) 224-4343

Portman, Rob (OH)(202) 224-3353

Pryor, Mark L. (AR)(202) 224-2353

Reed, Jack (RI)(202) 224-4642

Reid, Harry (NV)(202) 224-3542

Risch, James E. (ID)(202) 224-2752

Roberts, Pat (KS)(202) 224-4774

Rockefeller, John D., IV (WV)(202) 224-6472

Rubio, Marco (FL)(202) 224-3041

Sanders, Bernard (VT)(202) 224-5141

Schatz, Brian (HI)(202) 224-3934

Schumer, Charles E. (NY)(202) 224-6542

Scott, Tim (SC)(202) 224-6121

Sessions, Jeff (AL)(202) 224-4124

Shaheen, Jeanne (NH)(202) 224-2841

Shelby, Richard C. (AL)(202) 224-5744

Stabenow, Debbie (MI)(202) 224-4822

Tester, Jon (MT)(202) 224-2644

Thune, John (SD)(202) 224-2321

Toomey, Patrick J. (PA)(202) 224-4254

Udall, Mark (CO)(202) 224-5941

Udall, Tom (NM)(202) 224-6621

Vitter, David (LA)(202) 224-4623

Warner, Mark R. (VA)(202) 224-2023

Warren, Elizabeth (MA)(202) 224-4543

Whitehouse, Sheldon (RI)(202) 224-2921

Wicker, Roger F. (MS)(202) 224-6253

Wyden, Ron (OR)(202) 224-5244

In Arizona call:

Senator John McCain 202-224-2235 602-952-2410 www.mccain.senate.gov/
Senator Jeff Flake 202-224-4521 602-840-1891 www.flake.senate.gov/
Rep Ann Kirkpatrick(D1) 202-225-3361 520-316-0839 www.kirkpatrick.house.gov/
Rep Ron Barber(D2) 202-225-2542 520-881-3588 www.barber.house.gov/
Rep Raul M. Grijalva(D3) 202-225-2435 520-622-6788 www.grijalva.house.gov/
Rep Paul A. Gosar(R4) 202-225-2315 480-882-2697 www.gosar.house.gov/
Rep Matt Salmon(R5) 202-225-2635 480-699-8239 www.salmon.house.gov/
Rep David Schweikert(R6) 202-225-2190 480-946-2411 www.schweikert.house.gov/
Rep Ed Pastor (D7) 202-225-4065 602-256-0551 www.pastor.house.gov/
Rep Trent Franks (R8) 202-225-4576 202-225-4576 www.franks.house.gov/
Rep Kyrsten Sinema (D9) 202-225-9888 602-956-2285 www.sinema.house.gov/

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