text: U.S. House panel OKs Loebsack plan to keep F-16s in Des Moines | Des Moines Register Staff Blogs
  8:16 AM, May 10, 2012 | by Des Moines Register
  Categories: Iowa Politics Insider	An F-16 being serviced at the Iowa Air National Guard's 132nd Fighter Wing in Des Moines
  Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa City, offered the amendment to the fiscal year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. It was cosponsored by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and passed with bipartisan support, according to an Loebsack aide.
  The defense bill, which now goes to the House floor, would block plans by the Air Force to eliminate all 21 F-16 fighters at the Des Moines-based Air National Guard unit, which would result in the loss of 378 people, including 81 full-time employees. The unit currently has about 1,000 airmen. The Air Force has proposed replacing the F-16s with a smaller unit in Des Moines that would remotely control unmanned aircraft that would be flown elsewhere, such as in Afghanistan.
  "This is great news for the men and women of the 132nd Fighter Wing in Des Moines and Air National Guard units across the country," Loebsack said in a prepared statement. "The Air Force's original proposal made no sense for our national security, our ability to respond to emergencies here at home, or for the taxpayers. I am pleased that the Armed Services Committee agreed on a bipartisan basis and joined me in ensuring that our dedicated Airmen did not see their positions eliminated."
  However, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, expressed reservations about the House bill in a telephone conference call today with Iowa reporters.
  "I don't think Congress should be in the position of deciding every little thing about this plane or that plane or this person. I think that bill might be a little too specific," Harkin said. "Now I have questions about the 132nd Fighter Wing in Des Moines. I submitted a number of questions to the Pentagon brass and I don't think I got very good answers. I think this is something that needs to be continued to be looked into as to what is best for the future defense of our country, and what is best for our Guard personnel and the future of our Guard in the state of Iowa."
  Loebsack's amendment would cover the cost of continuing to operate Air Force and Army aircraft targeted for elimination by providing $709.6 million in federal funding. The provision requires a Department of Defense report to be completed by March 1, 2013 that lays out the economic analysis, alternative options and the effects of proposed transfers or retirements of military aircraft. It also proposes an analysis and review by the General Accountability Office within 90 days of the defense report being delivered.
  Retired Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett Jr., president of the National Guard Association of the United States, which includes 45,000 current or former Guard officers, praised the amendment supported by Loebsack and Hunter. "This pause would preserve Air Guard capabilities to accomplish its many missions while the Department of Defense and the nation's governors develop a process that better accounts for domestic missions in future defense budgets," he said.
  Earlier this week, U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, announced that the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee had voted to include funding to keep the 132nd Fighter Wing in Des Moines. But Loebsack said that without his authorization amendment, the Iowa unit still could have had its aircraft eliminated under retrenchment plans proposed by the Air Force.
  Loebsack said the bill approved today also prohibits reductions in the rate of basic allowance for housing fo National Guard members who transition from full-time National Guard duty to active duty or from active duty to full-time National Guard duty. Under current policy, some National Guardsmen who make this transition see their benefits reduced at a time when they and their families can least afford it because of a policy that changes how their benefits are calculated.
  Tags: 132nd Fighter Wing, Air Force, F-16, House Armed Services Committee, Iowa Air National Guard, National Guard, U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, U.S. Rep. Tom Latham	ADVERTISEMENT