Patty Murray: “I am extremely concerned for our country, for our military and, of course, for my own home State. In my home State, we…”

“I am extremely concerned for our country, for our military and, of course, for my own home State. In my home State, we have Fairchild Air Force Base which is home to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing. There are approximately 60 air refueling tankers that are based at that base outside of Spokane, WA. I have been to Fairchild. I have visited personally with the families. I know the difficult missions these crews handle for each one of us every day, and I have the utmost respect for what they do. I should also mention, in September some of these crews and these tankers were deployed in our military effort. So when the Air Force tells me, and they have told us, and tells Congress, and they have told Congress, that replacing the old KC-135 tankers is critical, I know it is important and my constituents know it is important. My State is home to Boeing, which would build the tanker replacements. My friend from Arizona suggests the Senate should reject this proposal simply because it would benefit the manufacturer of the planes. Well, that argument ignores the facts. These tankers are the oldest planes in our fleet. They cost a fortune to maintain and they are often down for repairs. Since September 11, we rely on them more than before.”