{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-capito-join-bipartisan-push-to-protect-west-virginia-air-national-guard-aircraft-from-elimination", "Manchin, Capito Join Bipartisan Push To Protect West Virginia Air National Guard Aircraft From Elimination", "2020-11-12", "2020", "2020-11", "Democrat", "House", "WV", "Joe Manchin", "M001183", "www.manchin.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "November 12, 2020\n\t\t\t Manchin, Capito Join Bipartisan Push To Protect West Virginia Air National Guard Aircraft From Elimination \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWashington, DC  U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) andShelley Moore Capito (R-WV)joined a bipartisan\r\nSenate coalition advocating for a large enough C-130 aircraft fleet in West Virginia and across the\r\ncountry to support active duty missions as well as respond to disasters and\r\nemergencies at home. Specifically, the senators and their colleagues\r\nwrote a letter urging Armed Services Committee conferees to make sure the final\r\nNational Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill adopts House language so\r\nthat the nation maintains an adequate inventory of C-130 aircraft. The members said in part, Our Air National Guard C-130 flying\r\nwings provide nearly half of the Air Force's tactical airlift capability. For\r\nmore than 50 years, we have brought Americans into combat, provided humanitarian\r\nrelief around the globe, and supported domestic response throughout the nation.\r\nAs the Air Force proposes changes to align our force structure with the\r\nNational Defense Strategy (NDS), it is vitally important we do not trade\r\nexperience and knowhow in pursuit of expensive, less defined capabilities. The\r\nANG C-130 fleet has been the backbone of our tactical airlift capability for a\r\ngeneration. Our ANG wings have built experience and expertise through repeated\r\ndeployments and domestic operations. Hard choices will be required as we\r\nrestructure the Air Force to face future foreign and domestic challenges.\r\nTherefore, we must make informed, data driven, decisions as we manage the C-130\r\nfleet. For these reasons, we strongly urge you to incorporate House Section\r\n1043 supporting a [Total Aircraft Inventory] of 292 C-130 Aircraft in the final\r\nFiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, the members concluded. In\r\naddition to Senators Manchin and Capito, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators\r\nTina Smith (D-Minn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dianne\r\nFeinstein (D-Calif.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jon\r\nTester (D-Mont.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), John Barrasso\r\n(R-Wyo.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.). Read the full\r\nletter below or click\r\nhere.  Dear Chairmen and Ranking\r\nMembers: We write in support of House\r\nSection 1043 which would require the Air Force maintain a Total Aircraft\r\nInventory (TAI) of 292 C-130 aircraft in the final Fiscal Year 2021 National\r\nDefense Authorization Act. As Senators from states that have Air National Guard\r\n(ANG) C-130 wings, we are deeply concerned by the effects a lower minimum\r\nnumber of C-130s would have. Our Air National Guard C-130\r\nflying wings provide nearly half of the Air Force's tactical airlift\r\ncapability. For more than 50 years, we have brought Americans into combat,\r\nprovided humanitarian relief around the globe, and supported domestic response\r\nthroughout the nation. As the Air Force proposes changes to align our force\r\nstructure with the National Defense Strategy (NDS), it is vitally important we\r\ndo not trade experience and knowhow in pursuit of expensive, less defined\r\ncapabilities. The Senate's proposed\r\nlanguage takes the approach of setting a minimum number of C-130 aircraft in\r\nthe fleet by adopting a Primary Mission Aircraft Inventory (PMAI) of 230\r\naircraft. Unlike the House approach, mandating PMAI alone does not account for\r\ntraining aircraft inventory requirements or backup aircraft needed to support\r\nmaintenance inspection and depot requirements. This disconnect could hamper the\r\nANG's readiness and training capabilities due to a potential lack of training\r\nassets and extended maintenance downtime. The House's proposed TAI of 292\r\nC-130s sets an aircraft minimum that accounts for all aircraft, including the\r\ntraining and maintenance needs of the C-130 fleet. In fact, the 2018 Mobility\r\nCapabilities and Requirements Study recommended a TAI of 300 C-130s to support\r\ncombatant commanders' wartime mobility requirements. Further, House Section 1043\r\nis supported by 14 governors from states whose ANGs have C-130 flying missions.\r\nAs these governors highlighted in a recent letter to your committees, Section\r\n1043 would ensure that their ANG wings can continue to support the nation's\r\nessential worldwide and domestic contingencies. As such, the 292 C-130 TAI\r\nwould allow the ANG to support the NDS without inhibiting the Guard's unique\r\ndomestic missions responding to natural disasters and other emergencies. The\r\nANG C-130 fleet has been the backbone of our tactical airlift capability for a\r\ngeneration. Our ANG wings have built experience and expertise through repeated\r\ndeployments and domestic operations. Hard choices will be required as we\r\nrestructure the Air Force to face future foreign and domestic challenges.\r\nTherefore, we must make informed, data driven, decisions as we manage the C-130\r\nfleet. For these reasons, we strongly urge you to incorporate House Section\r\n1043 supporting a TAI of 292 C-130 Aircraft in the final Fiscal Year 2021\r\nNational Defense Authorization Act.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-capito-join-bipartisan-push-to-protect-west-virginia-air-national-guard-aircraft-from-elimination"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1667979415506124, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}