Veterans Stand with McCain on Funding for F-22
By VoteVets.org
|
Press Release
PUBLISHED: July 13, 2009
"Senator McCain is 100 percent right on this issue"
WASHINGTON, DC - The largest progressive group of veterans in America is standing by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today, in his effort to strip funding for the unnecessary F-22 Raptor Jet from the Defense Authorization bill. VoteVets.org said McCain is right to oppose the funding, which even the Pentagon has said it doesn't want.
"Senator McCain is 100 percent right on this issue, and he has our support," said Jon Soltz, Iraq War Veteran and Chairman of VoteVets.org. "The funding for these F-22s is wasteful and takes money away from equipment we do need, plain and simple. President Obama opposes the funding, the Pentagon opposes the funding, the Republican Presidential Nominee opposes the funding, veterans groups oppose the funding. That should be ‘case closed' you would think - but not in Washington."
Indeed, despite the objections from the White House, which issued a veto threat, the Senate Armed Services Committee added $369 million (as a down-payment on $2 billion) into the defense budget for more F-22s. Secretary Robert Gates has said that the 187 planes already built, or in the pipeline, are enough. Defense contractor Lockheed Martin, which builds the F-22, doled out over $1.5 million to Federal-level candidates last cycle, and already has given over $300,000 to lawmakers for the 2010 cycle.
"We don't need more fighters designed to fight the next generation of Soviet planes - we already have 187 of those already, or in the pipeline. We need more on-the-ground equipment that can protect our troops fighting right now. The question for lawmakers is this - do you value contractors more, or our troops more? Because that's what they're voting on," Soltz concluded.
VoteVets.org is a pro-military organization of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, dedicated to the destruction of terror networks around the world, with force when necessary. It primarily focuses on education and advocacy on issues of importance to the troops and veterans, and holding politicians accountable for their actions on these issues.
###
Paid for by VoteVets.org
Paid for VoteVets Political Action Committee. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. VoteVets Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization which primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on behalf veterans and their families. VoteVets Political Action Committee is a federal political committee which primarily helps elect Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran candidates and educates about veterans and military issues aimed at influencing the outcome of the next election.