{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://coffman.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/coffman-disappointed-in-f-35-basing-decision", "Coffman Disappointed in F-35 Basing Decision", "2016-12-07", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "CO", "Mike Coffman", "C001077", "coffman.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC -- U.S. Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO) today expressed his extreme disappointment regarding the Air Force\u2019s announcement that Buckley Air Force Base (AFB) did not\u00a0make the list\u00a0to get the F-35 aircraft in the latest competitive\u00a0round. \u00a0\nThe F-35 is the Air Force\u2019s replacement for the F-16, which the Colorado Air National Guard currently flies out of Buckley. The F-16s are aging and under current plans, the Air Force will retire them by 2030. Without the basing of the new\u00a0F-35 aircraft to replace the F-16's, Buckley will probably no longer be able to maintain an active runway.\n\u201cWhile I am extremely disappointed by the Air Force\u2019s announcement today, this is not the end of the road,\u201d said Coffman. \u201cI will continue to work hard\u00a0for the long-term viability of Buckley and to highlight the advantages the 140th Wing of the Colorado Air National Guard brings\u00a0as a future home for the F-35.\u00a0 There will be additional rounds where Buckley will have an opportunity to\u00a0compete for the basing of the F-35.\"\nCoffman has\u00a0increased funding for the Department of Defense\u2019s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program (REPI). \u00a0REPI provides funds to acquire additional open space surrounding a base to\u00a0stop\u00a0encroachment. Encroachment is a significant concern for Buckley and the Air Force\u00a0as the City of Aurora\u00a0continues to grow. The F-35 has a larger noise signature than the F-16 so a larger buffer area is essential to give the Air Force the confidence of ongoing community support for F-35.\nBuckley expects to successfully compete for some of these additional Air Force funds to complete the\u00a0acquisition of its\u00a0planned\u00a01,000-acre open space\u00a0buffer zone along with matching contributions from the State of Colorado, Arapahoe County, and the City of Aurora.\nIn June 2016, Coffman led a bipartisan, bicameral letter sent to the Secretary of the Air Force to demonstrate the strong support from the State of Colorado for the basing the F-35 at Buckley.\u00a0 Signed by the entire Colorado Congressional delegation and Governor John Hickenlooper (D-CO), the letter calls out Buckley as an ideal basing option for the F-35 for a number of reasons. These include factors such as varying terrain for training exercises, strategic partnerships overseas, community support, and millions of dollars in renovations made to Buckley over the past 15 years.\n\u201cI look forward to continuing my strategic partnerships with state and local\u00a0leaders to best position Buckley for future missions,\u201d Coffman continued. \u201cI am absolutely confident that we can all work together to ensure Buckley is a strong contender when future F-35 basing decisions are made.\u201d\n###", 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": ["http://coffman.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/coffman-disappointed-in-f-35-basing-decision"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4358139596879482, "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"}