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OGDEN -- The U. S. Senate sided with President Barack Obama Tuesday and agreed to cut off funding to build seven more F-22 fighter jets. However, the 58-40 vote came with opposition from states that build and maintain those jets.
Hill Air Force Base, for example, is the base primarily responsible for servicing the F-22 Raptors. There will still be 187 at the base; Tuesday's vote just took $1.75 billion out of the Defense Bill Policy that would have gone to build seven more.
A spokesperson from Hill Air Force Base told KSL 5 News on the phone the vote probably won't have much of an effect.
In a written statement Hill Air Force Base said the decision "has no impact on Hill AFB because no legislation was enacted. Until the president's fiscal 2010 budget is approved by both houses of Congress, any statement about the impact to Hill AFB would only be speculative." [CLICK HERE to read the entire statement from Hill Air Force Base]
Both of Utah's senators objected the move. On the Senate floor, Sen. Orrin Hatch argued the F-22 Raptor is vital to America's National Security.
In a written statement to KSL 5 News he said: "While today's vote was not optimal, it is not surprising to see the new administration working to diminish support for our military's air superiority. After spending us blind for the first six months of the year, I believe the administration feels pressured to find cost savings. I just wish they weren't targeting military spending."
Congressman Rob Bishop, whose district includes Hill Air Force Base, also expressed his disappointment by saying, "It was the wrong thing to do."
In a written statement Bishop said: "We can argue that building more F-22s helps depot work at Hill or will help the base get a wing of F-35s, but that's not the main issue. The issue is that our national security is at risk if we don't build more F-22s."
Hill Air Force Base was just chosen to maintain key components and systems on the Air Force's most modern Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, which will result in more jobs.
E-mail: corton@ksl.com
