California lawmakers urge Air Force to bolster C-17 production

With more than 6,000 jobs at stake in Southern California, Long Beach lawmakers Tuesday urged Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne to make room in the Pentagon's budget for 42 more C-17 Globemaster III cargo planes.

The lawmakers met at the Pentagon in response to a Defense Department study on air and sea lift capabilities that is expected to recommend purchasing only 180 of the cargo planes, meaning sprawling production lines could be shut down in 2008.

A draft of the study sparked immediate concerns from lawmakers representing dozens of states that supply parts to the massive plane, which is assembled at the Boeing plant in Long Beach. Increasing buys of the plane to 222 would keep C-17 production lines open for another three years, to 2011.

After the Pentagon meeting, Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, D-Calif., said she was "cautiously optimistic" that the Air Force sees the benefit of a larger fleet of C-17s, used for domestic relief and overseas operations.

While Wynne did not indicate any change in Pentagon plans during the meeting, the Air Force secretary stressed that he understood the importance of the transport plane, Millender-McDonald said. However, she also acknowledged that the Pentagon -- like every other federal agency -- is facing budget constraints.

"We know there is a strain on the budget," she said. But "the C-17 rates heads and shoulders above all other aircraft."

During the meeting Tuesday, Millender-McDonald and local lawmakers stressed that ending production of the C-17 would have a damaging effect not only on the Long Beach economy but also on the national aerospace industry.

"Valuable talent will be lost if the orders are not there," said Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill. The result, Millender-McDonald said, would be that the United States would "cede leadership" of aircraft manufacturing to Europe.

Roughly 700 companies around the country have a hand in C-17 production, making the aircraft one of the most ardently supported weapons systems on Capitol Hill.

Most recently, the Senate approved, 89-8, an amendment to the fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill that would authorize a multi-year procurement of up to 42 additional cargo planes and keep production lines open until the Defense Department completes another assessment of aircraft cargo needs.

"There are many times chairmen of committees have overrode secretaries," Millender-McDonald said.