Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) has latched on to the meme we’ve been following here. “It seems the only place the President is willing to cut spending is on the armed forces,” Price said. “The President’s priorities are deeply flawed. We will fight to preserve this important program.”
“This decision will not only cost thousands of jobs at a critical time, it is detrimental to the country’s national defense capabilities,” Price added.
Why all the bile?
Well, he (and most of the Georgia Congressional delegation) isn’t pleased about the administration’s plans to nix the F-22 raptor. The official reason is that the F-22 is supposedly crucial to the national security. But the real reason is that there’s a Lockheed Martin plant in Marietta where thousands of Georgians work on the project.
So in comes a flood of criticisms. Price is joined, in somewhat less harsh terms, by Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), who released a joint statement citing some of the same concerns. (Chambliss is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.)
Rep. David Scott, a Democrat, is similarly disgruntled.
“Over the last few months, I have personally spoken with President Obama and Secretary Gates on several occasions about the future production of the F-22 aircraft and how cutting production would potentially impact our national and economic security,” said Rep. Scott. “I am extremely disappointed that Secretary Gates chose to ignore the security concerns laid out by many experts and dismiss an immense opportunity to help secure jobs for the almost 100,000 employees nationwide that will undoubtedly be directly or indirectly affected by this loss in production. Specifically, the state of Georgia and my district may lose up to 7,000 jobs. This is a critical time in our nation’s history and a time when we cannot afford to keep losing jobs.”
