Support C-17 Funding
The C-17 Production Lines are scheduled to be shut down in 2009. Suppliers have already been notified to stop production beyond existing orders. In an attempt to let Congress know the importance of this Air Transport, we are asking everyone to contact their Congressmen to ask for their support in restoring funds for the C-17. Please copy the text below to your word processing program, address it to both your Senators and to your Representative. Then sign the form and add your address and mail it right away!
To find your Senator or representative, please click here: http://www.capwiz.com/iamaw/dbq/officials/directory/directory.dbq?command=congdir
You will be transported to the IAM Legislative Web Site. After finding the names, return here.
Copy all below this line, add the name of your Senator or Rep and only keep the address for the Senate or House as appropriate:
The Honorable_______________________ House of Representatives OR United States Senate Washington, DC 20515 OR Washington, DC 20510 Dear Representative__________________, I am writing to urge you to support funding for additional Boeing C-17 Transport Aircraft in the FY2008 Defense Budget and, additionally, to support a change in the current law to allow the Department of Defense to retire some of the 30+ year old C-5As and purchase new C-17s. The failure of the current Administration to ensure that our military airlift capabilities will meet the needs of our nation in the future is of grave concern to me. Not only does the loss of continued production of the Boeing C-17 jeopardize our ability to defend our nation’s interest, it will also result in the loss of a critical domestic manufacturing industrial base and the layoff of tens of thousands of highly skilled workers all over the country. According to senior Air Force officials, current plans for the strategic airlift are not adequate to meet the growing airlift requirements. Yet, the Air Force is currently planning on spending $11-$15B to modernize the entire aging C-5 fleet because current law prohibits the Air Force from retiring even the oldest and least capable C-5s in the inventory. Allowing the retirement of these transports would free up monies needed to buy additional C-17s, while still allowing for the modernization of the remaining C-5s. In the absence of additional DoD C-17 orders, Boeing issued stop work orders to its suppliers on March 2, 2007. The C-17 supplier base will begin to shutdown this year, resulting in significant layoffs next year and production line shutdown in mid-2009. In order to keep the C-17 production lines open, funding will be needed in the FY 2008 Defense Budget currently under debate in Congress. I strongly urge you to show active support for the addition of funding in the FY2008 Defense Budget necessary to sustain efficient C-17 production and maintain a healthy C-17 supplier base; and for a change to current law to allow the Air Force to retire the oldest C-5As and replace them with new C-17s. I look forward to hearing from you on this issue and hope that as one of my elected representatives you will actively support continued production of the world’s best airlift aircraft – the C-17. Sincerely, Address:____________________________________________ _____________________________________________