Political Quotes

“Madam President, I wish to comment briefly on the amendment proposed by my colleague from North Carolina, Senator Tillis, with respect to the stationing of the C-130 aircraft at Pope Army Airfield in North Carolina. The amendment states that these aircraft shall be positioned in Pope Army Airfield. They are C-130 Avionics Modernization Program aircraft, the AMP program. Basically, they are C-130H models that were upgraded. In addition, the Air Force has C-130J models, the newest model. In the give-and-take of the budget deliberations over the last few years, this AMP modernization program is essentially curtailed dramatically because the choice was buying new J models or fixing the old H models. So, in effect, what we have is a group of C-130 modified aircraft that are at Little Rock Air Force Base. They are only being minimally maintained because these AMP-modified aircraft are not standard. They are different from the traditional hotel model, and they are not as new or as modern as the J model, and they are not being supported with AMP- trained crews or AMP-unique logistics. Logistically, they are at Little Rock Air Force Base and sort of caught up in this funding and programmatic dilemma. They are not fully deployable because of these conditions. They are just sort of additive to the force structure of the C-130J. There are only three that are modified, with five more to be modified.…”