[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 86 (Friday, May 23, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1081]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

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                           HON. STEVE CHABOT

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 22, 2008

  Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I submit the following:
  Requesting Member: Congressman Steve Chabot.
  Bill Number: H.R. 5658, The National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2008.
  Account: Aircraft Procurement, Army.
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: The National Guard Association of 
the United States.
  Address of Requesting Entity: One Massachusetts Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC. 20001, (202) 789-0031.
  Description of Request: The National Guard and the active Army have 
developed a two-pronged program to support the continued modernization 
of the National Guard Black Hawk fleet, however, it is not fully 
funded. The National Guard wants to accelerate the fielding of ``M'' 
series Black Hawks by 10 aircraft per year. In addition, the Army is 
recapitalizing Army National Guard UH-60A helicopters with a UH-60A 
recapitalization program funded in the Operations and Maintenance 
accounts. This program includes an airframe life extension, fleet-wide 
product improvements and the replacements of components with the latest 
configurations, however the portion of the program to upgrade the 
recapitalized UH-60A to the UH-60L configuration is not funded. 
Upgrading to the UH-60L provides a Black Hawk that is cheaper to 
operate and one that has 1,000 pounds greater lift than the UH-60A 
model. A rate of 38 upgrades per year is required to enable Army 
National Guard units to upgrade or replace all the UH-60As at pace with 
the active Army.

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