Rigell blames Nye for Joint Forces Command on the chopping block….
| Republican Scott Rigell is pouncing on the potential closing of Joint Forces Command and laying the economic loss at the feet of his opponent U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye.
Nye, D-Norfolk, sits on the House Armed Services Committee along with U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake, and U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland. Those three shared the stage with Gov. Bob McDonnell and U.S. Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott this afternoon to blast Secretary Robert Gates for considering closing Joint Forces Command. In fact it was Nye who took the time to note that “there should be no doubt that on the important issues….there is no room for partisanship,” he said. That was shortly before Forbes launched into a familiar GOP attack theme by condemning the decision as “further evidence” that Barack Obama’s administration is cutting defense spending in order to pay for expensive social programs. “What we’re witnessing is the piecemeal auctioning off of the finest military the world has ever known,” Forbes said. Rigell has taken up that attacking laying Gates’ decision at Nye’s feet. Here’s the full text of the Rigell’s statement. “The planned closure of Norfolk’s Joint Forces Command is yet one more painful consequence of having Glenn Nye in Congress. Once again, our region is on the verge of losing a major military asset, and our freshman incumbent has done little to stop such a move. Hampton Roads and Eastern Shore families cannot afford another two years of Glenn Nye and his lack of leadership on jobs and growing our economy. Unfortunately, this is not the first time Congressman Nye has failed to protect our region. Despite the potential loss of a carrier, Nye waited a full year after he took office, and just days before the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) was published, to form a commission to coordinate our region’s response to Florida’s relentless efforts to move our military assets and commands. It is telling that Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim observed that forming a unified local response was ‘long overdue.’ Losing the USJFCOM has the same potential to devastate our economy as does the loss of a carrier. The closure of companies that depend on the modeling and simulation component of the USJFCOM, including Lockheed Martin, will ripple through our real estate market, restaurants, and other small businesses. For over eighteen months, we have seen an out-of-touch Congress spend our country into a $1.4 trillion deficit; now the bill is coming due. Speaker Pelosi’s liberal agenda and hyperactive spending is now forcing us to cut our national defense. At a time when virtually every federal department is growing, it is astonishing that the Department of Defense is the only one facing real cuts. This is another example of the misplaced priorities of our freshman incumbent who voted in the Democratic Congressional leadership that is taking our country down the wrong track. In contrast, I believe in a policy of peace through strength, which can only be sustained through a robust economy. America’s national security is directly tied to our economic strength and the vitality of our private employers. That is why my campaign is dedicated to creating jobs and renewing America.” |