NELSON DEMANDS ANSWERS ON AIR FORCE FUNDING SHORTFALL

February 19, 2008 - Yesterday, the United States Air Force officials warned that American dominance of the skies would be threatened in the future without an infusion of an additional $20 billion for aircraft replacement and maintenance – a budget request that was not included in the Administration’s annual budget submitted to congress earlier this month.

Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations Committees and the co-chair of the Senate Air Force Caucus, issued the following statement on the Air Force budget shortfall:

"Those of us on oversight and appropriations committees will have questions regarding this expected shortfall for mission critical funding for the Air Force. We need to know if this $20 billion request was submitted to the Administration for inclusion in the annual defense budget and if so, why wasn't it included? If it wasn't submitted for the budget by the Air Force, why not?

"It seems suspicious that funding so desperately needed would be omitted from the annual budget request and left for Congress to deal with through the unfunded priority list. When you consider the Administration's hostility toward Congressional earmarks, it seems inconsistent to rely on Congress to earmark funding for important objectives like keeping the Air Force aircraft in the skies.

"I will do everything I can to make sure all our branches have the highest degree of readiness. But this most recent revelation underscores that what the Administration put forward was not a budget – it was a fudget."

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	Press Release	February 19, 2008
NELSON DEMANDS ANSWERS ON AIR FORCE FUNDING SHORTFALL February 19, 2008 - Yesterday, the United States Air Force officials warned that American dominance of the skies would be threatened in the future without an infusion of an additional $20 billion for aircraft replacement and maintenance – a budget request that was not included in the Administration’s annual budget submitted to congress earlier this month. Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations Committees and the co-chair of the Senate Air Force Caucus, issued the following statement on the Air Force budget shortfall: "Those of us on oversight and appropriations committees will have questions regarding this expected shortfall for mission critical funding for the Air Force. We need to know if this $20 billion request was submitted to the Administration for inclusion in the annual defense budget and if so, why wasn't it included? If it wasn't submitted for the budget by the Air Force, why not? "It seems suspicious that funding so desperately needed would be omitted from the annual budget request and left for Congress to deal with through the unfunded priority list. When you consider the Administration's hostility toward Congressional earmarks, it seems inconsistent to rely on Congress to earmark funding for important objectives like keeping the Air Force aircraft in the skies. "I will do everything I can to make sure all our branches have the highest degree of readiness. But this most recent revelation underscores that what the Administration put forward was not a budget – it was a fudget." ###