A Message from
Thom:
What
Thom’s
Been
Up
To:
Fighting
to
Save
the
440th
Airlift
Wing
at
Pope
Airfield
Since
the
day
Thom
took
office,
he
has
been
fighting
the
Air
Force’s
decision
to
shutter
the
440th
Airlift
Wing
at
Fort
Bragg.
Thom
made
multiple
visits
to
Ft.
Bragg
and
recently
wrote
a letter
along
with
Senator
Burr
to
the
Army
Chief
of
Staff
expressing
concerns
over
these
plans.
As
a
result
of
mounting
pressure
from
Thom
and
the
North
Carolina
Congressional
Delegation,
Thom
successfully
included
an
amendment
in
the
2016
National
Defense
Authorization
Act
(NDAA)
to
preserve
the
C-130H
presence
at
Fort
Bragg’s
Pope
Airfield.
This
amendment
requires
leadership
approvals
at
Fort
Bragg
that
indicate
this
decision
will
not
affect
our
national
security
and
the
readiness
of
the
global
response
unit.
Thom
recently wrote
an
op-ed
supporting
the
inclusion
of
this
amendment
and
it
has
garnered local
support.
"The
440th
Airlift
Wing’s
C-130H
presence
at
Pope
Airfield
is
imperative
to
our
military
readiness
it
is
the
nation’s
leading
global
response
unit.
Our
men
and
women
serving
at
Pope
Airfield
are
the
only
members
of
the
military
who
can
be
ready
and
active
in
a
hostile
situation
within
18
hours
of
the
president’s
orders.
Yet,
despite
its
invaluable
strategic
and
security
importance,
the
Department
of
Defense
and
Air
Force
have
worked
for
quite
some
time
to
shutter
the
Airlift
wing
based
on
entirely
misguided
budgetary
considerations."
-
Senators
Thom
Tillis
&
Richard
Burr
Meanwhile,
North
Carolina's
two
senators
-
Thom
Tillis
and
Richard
Burr
-
have
had
their
boots
on
the
Fort
Bragg
ground.
In
a
letter
this
week
to
Army
Chief
of
Staff
Gen.
Mark
Milley,
the
senators
wrote
that
they
have
been
talking
with
"all
levels
of
leadership
in
the
18th
Airborne
Corps,
from
commanding
generals
to
first
sergeants."
And
what
they
found
is
unanimous
concurrence
that
'the
corps'
airborne
qualifications
are
degraded,
units
are
not
getting
the
support
they
require."
-
Fayetteville
Observer
Editorial
Board
Protecting
Fair
Opportunities
for
Free
Trade
The
Obama
Administration
recently
announced
a
tobacco
carve-out
in
the
Trans-Pacific
Partnership
(TPP),
essentially
using
the
trade
agreement
as
a
laboratory
for
partisan
politics
by
discrimination
against
specific
agricultural
commodities.
Thom
will
fight
to
defeat
this
trade
deal
as
it
sets
a
dangerous
precedent
of
picking
winners
and
losers
in
future
trade
agreements.
Thom
recently
spoke
on
the
Senate
floor
to
share
his
concerns
with
his
colleagues:
Ensuring
Veterans
have
a
voice
Thom
is
committed
to
making
sure
Veterans
get
they
care
and
attention
they
deserve,
and
that
commitment
continued
with
Thom’s
demands
for
the
VA
to
properly
help
the
victims
of
toxic
water
contamination
at
Camp
Lejeune.
In
a
Senate
Veterans’
Affairs
Committee
hearing,
Thom
questioned
Secretary
of
the
Navy
Ray
Maybus’
recent comments
asserting
there
was
no
correlation
between
living
at
Camp
Lejeune
and
the
contraction
of
diseases
after
being
exposed
to
toxic
water
contamination,
despite
the
consensus
of
government
scientists
that
there
was. Thom
also
expressed
frustration
with
the
VA
for
outright
denying
claims
made
by
veterans
for
disability
benefits
for
diseases
already
admitted
by
the
VA
as
linked
to
exposure
at
Camp
Lejeune.
Such
a
denial
would
force
veterans
to
start
the
claim
process
over
once
the
new
program
currently
being
developed
by
the
VA
to
cover
such
diseases
for
exposed
veterans
is
established.
Thom
called
on
the
VA
to
step
up
and
start
prioritizing
results
over
optics.
|
In
Case
You
Missed
It:
Senators
Form
Unlikely
Alliance
on
Veterans’
Education
When
it
comes
to
veterans
issues,
a
bipartisan
partnership
is
emerging
in
the
Senate
between
Ohio
Democrat
Sherrod
Brown
and
Republican
Thom
Tillis
of
North
Carolina.
Read
the
full
story
in
Roll
Call here.
Tillis
Hires
Brian
Brown
to
Complete
List
of
State
Staff
Rep.
Brian
Brown,
a
Greenville
Republican,
resigned
his
House
seat
to
become
the
eastern
regional
representative
for
U.S.
Sen.
Thom
Tillis,
starting
Oct.
15.Read
the
full
story
in
the
News
&
Observer
here.
|