By Jen DiMascio
Like a number of senators last week, 57 House members this week appealed to the Defense Secretary to ensure that the Air Force funds C-17 Globemasters in the budget the Pentagon will submit to Congress in February.
“USAF leaders have expressed concerns during recent congressional hearings regarding their inability to procure additional C-17s and have asked the House of Representative[s] to add funding for C-17s during the appropriations process,” said the Dec. 19 letter. “While this approach was successful last year and may work again this year, there is widespread dissatisfaction in the House with this strategy.”
Without the money, the C-17 production line is in danger of being shutdown, said the letter, signed first by Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) and Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.). Boeing [BA] makes the strategic airlifter in Long Beach, Calif.; the company’s defense operations are headquartered in St. Louis, Mo.
The company is currently investing its own money to keep the line open, according to Rick Sanford, a Boeing spokesman.
“We’re building 10 airplanes, acquiring parts and sub-assemblies for 10 aircraft that are at this point not sold,” Sanford said. “But in doing so we have kept our supplier network whole.”
The company last March had threatened to shut down the line but was able to keep it open given likely congressional support for adding money for the planes in an emergency supplemental.
Congress is expected to approve the supplemental next year. It could include funding for up to 14 C-17s, but there are no guarantees.
Rep. Jim Marshall (D-Ga.) was not among the 57 members of Congress signing the letter, but he told Defense Daily Dec. 19 that one of the biggest issues for the Air Force in the coming year will continue to be the size of the air mobility fleet.
Past estimates did not consider the war-time use of the aircraft. “We need more C-17s,” he said.