Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) spoke on the Senate floor today in opposition to an amendment that would strip critical funding for 10 C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft from the Defense Appropriations bill. The C-17s are powered by F-117 Pratt & Whitney engines produced in Middletown, Connecticut.




In urging his colleagues to support the C-17 funding, Dodd spoke about three Pratt & Whitney employees who are part of the workforce in Middletown. As Dodd said in his floor speech, If this amendment prevails, my states largest private employer [United Technologies Corporation] tells me that we stand to lose another 3,000 jobs.




The C-17 is the most reliable aircraft in our arsenal and its also the most versatile, Dodd continued. This amendment would hurt our workers, our troops, and our national security. It is a massive expenditure disguised as a small short-term savings. It is the very definition of cutting off our nose to spite our face. I urge my colleagues to join me in defeating it.

Read the full statement at: http://dodd.senate.gov/?q=node/5241 (less info)