In his piece on April 24, HASC includes A-10 funding, but not retirement language, Jeremy Herb of Politico reports that the House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry has set aside “$683 million in his defense authorization bill to keep the A-10 flying next fiscal year. Herb alleges that the bill, “does not include an explicit prohibition on retiring the A-10 Warthog,” in order to allow Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) “to offer the amendment to prohibit the Warthog’s retirement.”
On Monday, McSally issued a press release touting her “tireless efforts to advocate for the A-10 Warthog and EC-130H Compass Call, two aircraft housed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (DM) in Tucson. She called the set aside “a major victory,” that saves the aircraft “from having to be added by amendment and greatly increases its chances to pass the Committee and remain in the final bill voted on by the House.”
“Today’s funding is a big victory for Southern Arizonans and a significant step forward in ensuring that our best Close Air Support and Airborne Electronic Attack assets remain in the air and protecting our troops,” said Rep. McSally in her statement. “The Administration’s arguments have simply failed to hold up, and at hearing after hearing, officials have conceded to me that going ahead with the plan to mothball the A-10 and EC-130H without replacements would create dangerous gaps in our capabilities.
McSally then prepares the public for her pre-planned A-10 saving maneuver. “I’m very glad to see Chairman Thornberry provide full funding for these critical weapon systems and to help ensure we retain these capabilities, I’ll be offering amendments to the bill to prohibit the retirement of any A-10 and EC-130H aircraft next year.”
Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Mac Thornberry joined in, “Time and again in our hearings and out in the field, the message from our personnel is clear: retiring the platform without a replacement would result in real gaps in our capabilities, most important being the ability to protect American ground troops in combat. Ensuring the safety of our troops is a top priority of this Committee, and we look forward to continue working with Rep. McSally with her invaluable experience and perspective to ensure they have the best close air support possible.”
Rep. McSally also recently published an op-ed in the News York Times making the case that retiring the A-10 without a replacement would put American lives at risk.
On Wednesday, lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee, of which Rep. McSally is a member, will meet to mark up the FY2016 NDAA, which sets spending authorization for all programs under the Department of Defense. A retired Air Force Colonel and A-10 squadron commander, Rep. McSally flew 325 combat hours in the A-10 and commanded the 354th Fighter Squadron based out of Davis-Monthan.
The public is encouraged to contact the following representatives to urge their support for the planned amendments:
House Appropriations Committee – Defense
Republicans
• Rodney Frelinghuysen, New Jersey, Chairman
• Kay Granger, Texas, Vice Chair
• Ander Crenshaw, Florida
• Ken Calvert, California
• Tom Cole, Oklahoma
• Steve Womack, Arkansas
• Robert Aderholt, Alabama
• John Carter, Texas
• Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida
• Tom Graves, Georgia
Democrats
• Pete Visclosky, Indiana, Ranking Member
• Betty McCollum, Minnesota
• Steve Israel, New York
• Tim Ryan, Ohio
• C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Maryland
• Marcy Kaptur, Ohio