Richard Shelby: “I also want to make certain that both the Armed Services Committee and the Defense Subcommittee on Appropriations are…”

“I also want to make certain that both the Armed Services Committee and the Defense Subcommittee on Appropriations are receiving identical funding information from the Air Force. To that end, I am committed to working with my colleagues to ensure that we are all receiving the same information and have the same understanding of the needs of the program to move forward at this time. The Tanker Replacement Program is vital to ensuring that our Armed Forces have the most reliable and effective equipment in the world. In a year when the Senate's Defense appropriations bill has been cut $9 billion, I appreciate the difficult funding choices that must be made. As a member of the committee, we have to make those choices. However, as our military aircraft become fewer in number and have to serve longer than those they replace, we cannot afford to take a misstep at the outset of this acquisition program. We must adequately fund the Tanker Replacement Program to ensure our servicemembers have the necessary equipment to successfully defend our Nation. I appreciate Chairman Stevens' continuing assistance with this program, as well as Senator McCain's longstanding interest, and look forward to working with both of them in the coming months to ensure that we can move forward and replace our aging tanker fleet. A lot of those planes are over 40 years old.”