Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Tim Walberg signed a letter with the entire Michigan delegation to House and Senate Armed Services Committees expressing concern about the Air Forces Fiscal Year 2013 Budget.  

“The proposed cuts to the Air National Guard remain a top concern for me.  If implemented, they will unnecessarily gut the most cost-effective component of the Air Force, result in the loss of hundreds of jobs in Southwest Michigan, and may compromise our national defense. I’m grateful that my colleagues from Michigan feel the same way and will stand together on such an important issue,” commented Congressman Walberg.

Below is the text of the letter U.S. Representatives of the Michigan Delegation sent to the House and senate Armed Services Committees:

March 12, 2012

The Honorable Buck McKeon, Chairman

The Honorable Adam Smith, Ranking Member U.S. House Armed Services Committee The Honorable Carl Levin, Chairman The Honorable John McCain, Ranking Member U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee

Dear Chairmen and Ranking Members:

We write to you today to express our grave concern with the Air Force's Fiscal Year 2013 budget request. From the earliest moments in our nation's history, the citizen militia has responded at a moment's notice to defend the nation. Well before we had a large standing army, citizen-soldiers provided the bulk of our armed forces when the nation went to war. Today, the National Guard continues the tradition of the minuteman, ready to serve both the Governor of their individual states for homeland defense, disaster recovery and other state missions as well as train and prepare for combat at the call of the President.

Since September 11th, the National Guard has stood shoulder to shoulder with their active duty counterparts, which enabled the country to prosecute two wars simultaneously. They have served with distinction in Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, as well as Operation Odyssey Dawn.

Without question, this nation would not have been able to maintain the high operational tempo required to support those operations without the infusion of manpower and assets from Guard units around the nation. In countless instances, men and women of the Guard willingly volunteered to take the fight to the enemy - and many have made the ultimate sacrifice.

It is no secret that the nation's fiscal situation is dire; cost efficiencies must be found and waste and duplication must be reduced in every department and program across the Department of Defense. We are under no illusion that tough choices will have to be made; however, we find it troubling that the Air National Guard which currently represents 35% of our air capability while using only 6% of the budget is being asked to absorb 59% of the total aircraft cuts in the effort to reduce costs.

If the proposed budget is truly about saving tax-payer dollars, it seems incomprehensible that the overwhelming majority of airpower reductions should come from the Air National Guard when they are more cost effective than their active duty counterparts. At a minimum, we believe that a delay in any decision be made until the studies currently underway are completed to fully understand the delicate balance between cost savings and the preservation of combat capabilities.

We are cognizant of the need for shared sacrifice across the nation and among the active duty, Guard and reserve components of the Air Force, but we fully believe that such sacrifice be shared proportionally and after a sober assessment of the cost implications. The impact on the Air National Guard generally across this country and to Michigan's National Guard specifically is not "shared sacrifice;" rather Michigan takes a disproportionate cut and stands to lose over 800 jobs statewide according to the projections from the Air Force. Air Guard units in many other states are also affected in a way which severely diminish their capabilities. This is why 49 Governors and every Adjutant General from each of the 54 states and territories have stood up against these cuts and asked us to chart a different course.

We respectfully ask you to delay in any decision until the appropriate analysis can be completed.

Sincerely,

Candice S. Miller
Tim Walberg
Dan Benishek
John D. Dingell
John Conyers, Jr.
Dale E. Kildee
Sander M. Levin
Fred Upton
Dave Camp
Mike Rogers
Thaddeus McCotter
Gary Peters
Hansen Clarke   
Bill Huizenga
Justin Amash

cc: Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense