releases: https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-offutt
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-offutt | Fort Report: Offutt | 2015-12-18 | 2015 | 2015-12 | Republican | House | NE | Jeff Fortenberry | F000449 | fortenberry.house.gov | legacy | A seasoned member of an Air Force crew once approached me. He said, Congressman, I understand youre from Nebraska. I spent some time in my earlier years at Offutt Air Force Base. Im getting ready to retire, and Im going to make Nebraska my home. We love the community. I hear this story over and over again. The quality of life in Nebraska, including the stability and vibrancy of community and family life, attract many people who were stationed here during their military careers back to our state. Nebraskans deeply appreciate our militarys sacrifice. We recognize the role that Offutt Air Force Base and Strategic Command play in our national security. Just south of Omaha in Bellevue, these important components of our national security infrastructure are a commanding presence in Nebraskas economic and cultural tradition. Offutt Air Force Base has more than 10,000 military and civilian employees and houses several Air Force commands including the 55th Wing, the largest part of the Air Forces Air Combat Command. Offutt-based personnel support worldwide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, operating out of many different locations to aid in our national security. Other missions range from identifying remains of those who have been lost in battle to observing weather conditions for battle readiness. Personnel stationed at Offutt even monitored and detected nuclear radiation after a devastating earthquake damaged Japans Fukushima nuclear plant in 2011. One of my priorities in Congress is working with both Offutt and Strategic Command to ensure military readiness. One emerging challenge is the bases aging infrastructure. The base has a lone runway which needs to be replaced. Service members have to literally walk the expanse to ensure there is no concrete debris that could damage a plane during takeoff and landing. Planning has begun for a new runway, with design scheduled to begin next year. Essential communication with the Pentagon about the importance of this initiative continues on all fronts. This week, I assembled an Offutt Air Force Base Task Force to conduct careful oversight of the runway replacement process. Joining my task force will be representatives from the offices of Governor Ricketts, Congressman Smith, and Congressman Ashford. We will work closely with the Pentagon through the design phase to monitor ongoing developments as we move toward needed new construction in the next few years. Ongoing evaluation of our military's needs is an important part of my assignment as Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. Offutt Air Force Base and Strategic Command have a symbiotic relationship that is critical to our national security. The Omaha and Bellevue communities, as well as our state government, continue working to support these institutions. In the meantime, I remain amazed at the number of veterans I meet who have served at Offutt or Strategic Commandpeople who had no relationship with our community prior to their experience here, but who now want to call Nebraska their home | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |