[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 72 (Friday, May 18, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H3108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PREVENTING CUTS TO AIR NATIONAL GUARD

  (Ms. HOCHUL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HOCHUL. Mr. Speaker, as we begin voting on the National Defense 
Authorization Act later today, I want to remind people that, earlier 
this year, the Air Force proposed cutting 5,100 Air National Guard 
positions from our military. Part of this plan eliminates three C 130s 
and 800 jobs from the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station in my own 
district.
  Transparency in government is important to all of us. Yet in this 
decision, no information was provided to us as to how these decisions 
were made to cut that many across the country. It's clear we need to 
reduce our spending, but we need to do it in a transparent and open 
way.
  Last week, I was proud to join Republicans and Democrats on the Armed 
Services Committee in offering an amendment to restore these positions. 
When our citizens need help, whether it's fighting terrorism in 
Afghanistan or being rescued from floods in upstate New York, I say: 
Who you gonna call?
  I want to make sure that the Air National Guard is prepared to 
protect us; and therefore, today, we need to protect them.

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