Air Force Needs Almost $5 Billion To Recover Bases From Hurricane, Flood Damage [View all]
Source: NPR
Air Force Needs Almost $5 Billion To Recover Bases From Hurricane, Flood Damage
March 28, 2019 7:02 AM ET
JAMES DOUBEK
The U.S. Air Force says it needs $4.9 billion in new funding over the next two and a half years to cover the costs of rebuilding two air bases hit by natural disasters.
About one-third of Offutt Air Force Base, in eastern Nebraska, was underwater earlier this month as flooding hit large swaths of the Midwest. And Tyndall Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle was hit hard by Hurricane Michael in October.
The Air Force is asking for $1.2 billion in supplemental funding for fiscal year 2019 and $3.7 billion for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Congress would need to approve the funding.
"This storm, if we don't get a supplemental, is going to affect the rest of the Air Force and our ability to operate," Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said Wednesday at the Heritage Foundation. "We desperately need the supplemental to recover from the natural disaster that hammered Tyndall and Offutt."
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https://www.npr.org/2019/03/28/707506544/air-force-needs-almost-5-billion-to-recover-bases-from-hurricane-flood-damage
An aerial view of Offutt Air Force Base and the surrounding areas affected by floodwaters in Nebraska on March 17. One-third of the base was covered by water from flooding.
Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake/U.S. Air Force via AP