[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 92 (Thursday, June 5, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1153-E1154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DANA ROHRABACHER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 5, 2008

  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the requirements of the 
Republican

[[Page E1154]]

Conference of the House, I am submitting for the Record the following 
information regarding an earmark I requested, which was included in the 
reported version of H.R. 5658, the ``Duncan Hunter National Defense 
Authorization Act'':
  Requesting Member: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46).
  Bill Number: H.R. 5658, the ``Duncan Hunter National Defense 
Authorization Act.''
  Account: Ap,A Aircraft Procurement, Army; 020 Utility Helicopter 
Mods.
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Army National Guard Readiness 
Center.
  Address of Requesting Entity: 111 S. George Mason Drive, Arlington, 
VA 22204.
  Description of Request: Provide $5 million for helicopter 
modernization. The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter is an essential 
capability of the National Guard. It provides units in every State with 
a multi-mission aircraft for search & rescue, utility lift, disaster 
relief and medical evacuation. The Army National Guard (ARNG) is 
authorized 782 Black Hawk aircraft, but is short of this authorization 
by almost 100 aircraft. This shortage requires ARNG units to loan or 
transfer Black Hawks in support deployments, training or State 
missions, resulting in a higher usage rate of available airframes. 
Additionally, more than 500 of the 782 National Guard aircraft are 
older UH-60A models, with an average age of approximately 25 years. The 
Army is procuring over 1,200 UH-60M Black Hawks for utility, special 
operations and MEDEVAC missions to replace the aging UH-60A from 
operational units by 2016. The Army acquired 33 UH-60M Black Hawks by 
the end of FY07, and from FY09 to FY13, the Army plans to procure an 
additional 300 UH-60M Black Hawks (70 of those aircraft are programmed 
for ARNG units). However, without an accelerated procurement of the UH-
60M, the Army National Guard will be operating more than 400 UH-60A 
helicopters beyond 2020. The ARNG and the Active Army developed a 
program to support the continued modernization of the ARNG Black Hawk 
fleet. Unfortunately, this program is not fully funded. The ARNG plan 
is to accelerate the fielding of UH-60M Black Hawks by 10 aircraft per 
year. Although the Active Army has programmed UH-60A recapitalization 
for the ARNG with Operations and Maintenance (O&M) funds, which 
includes an airframe life extension, fleet-wide product improvements 
and the replacement of components, the UH-60A to L upgrade is not 
funded. The UH-60L Black Hawk is more economical to operate and has 
1,000 lbs. of additional lift than the UH-60A. The desired rate of UH-
60A to L upgrades is 38 per year. Funding the UH-60A to L upgrade will 
significantly improve the Black Hawk fleet, and assure that ARNG units 
are ready, deployable, and available to protect our national interests 
both abroad and at home. This ARNG aviation initiative has been 
identified by the Chief of the National Guard Bureau (CNGB) as FY09 
``Essential 10--Top 25'' unfunded priorities.

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