Reps. Garamendi & Thompson Advocate for Travis Air Force Base As Sequestration Cuts Continue

Point out that the KC-10 Tanker is needed for our national defense and should not be eliminated

WASHINGTON, DC – An article in Defense News recently reported on rumors that the Air Force, faced with sequestration’s budget cuts, is considering eliminating the entire KC-10 Tanker fleet. 27 of the Air Force’s 59 KC-10s are assigned to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California. Today at a House Armed Services Committee hearing with Air Force Chief-of-Staff General Mark Welsh and in a discussion with General Paul Selva, Commander of Air Mobility Command, Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA) pressed for answers.

Following these conversations, Congressman Garamendi said, “I made it clear that the KC-10 Tanker is critical for national defense and that until it is replaced by the KC-46 or another Air Mobility Command asset, I expect the KC-10 to continue at Travis Air Force Base.”

Garamendi added, “As the ‘Gateway to the Pacific,’ Travis Air Force Base plays a vital role as our national defense posture is repositioned toward the Asia-Pacific region. My office will continue to work with our Northern California partners to make sure that Team Travis has the resources needed to carry out its most important Air Mobility mission.”

Click here to read a letter that Congressman Garamendi sent the Air Force earlier this week on the KC-10. Click here to watch the Congressman’s questions at today’s hearing and click here for a transcript of that exchange.

“The arbitrary, across the board cuts known as sequestration are hurting our economy and weakening our national security,” said Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena, CA), who formerly represented the Travis community in Congress. “The KC-10 Extender air refueling Tanker plays an important role for our country’s security and until there is a suitable replacement, the KC-10 needs to stay at Travis Air Force Base. Instead of keeping the reckless sequestration cuts in place, we need to find a balanced approach to deficit reduction that cuts spending, raises revenue, and creates jobs.”

Congressmen Garamendi and Thompson voted six times to replace sequestration with a balanced plan to create jobs and responsibly reduce the deficit. In both California and Washington, DC, they have forcefully advocated for an end to sequestration’s harmful and irrational budget cuts.