Tester: ‘Dangerous’ White House Proposal Confirms Emergency Declaration Could Take Money from Malmstrom, MANG for Border Wall

Senator vows to fight for Montana’s military men and women after Congress rejects President’s Emergency Declaration request on a bipartisan basis

(Big Sandy, Mont.)-U.S. Senator Jon Tester today slammed a Trump Administration proposal that could take money from Malmstrom Air Force Base and the Montana Air National Guard (MANG) to pay for a wall on the southern border using the President’s National Emergency Declaration that Congress rejected on a bipartisan basis last week.

The Pentagon released a document this week of U.S. military construction projects that the White House could redirect funds from to build a border wall. The Missile Maintenance Facility at Malmstrom Air Force Base and the Montana Air National Guard’s C-130 Aircraft Apron are both on the list.

“The President’s dangerous proposal to take money away from our troops to build a wall undermines the missions at Malmstrom and MANG,” Tester said. “I’ve fought alongside our military leaders for years to secure these investments for Montana, and I won’t stand by while our state’s critical national security resources gets ransacked by the President.”

The construction of a new Missile Maintenance Dispatch Facility at Malmstrom is critical to the base’s mission. The new facility is needed to house new security helicopters that are scheduled to arrive at the base in 2021. The facility will also serve as the primary location to house missile field components during repair and prior to transit to field missile sites.

The Montana Air National Guard needs a new aircraft apron to safely park and store the unit’s C-130’s. Without a new apron the C-130 aircraft ramp is not in line with current Federal Aviation Administration standards.

Tester has used his position on the Senate Appropriations Committee to secure funding for both the Missile Maintenance Dispatch Facility and the C-130 Apron.

Tester slammed President Trump’s emergency declaration proposal last week and is the only member of the Montana Congressional delegation to oppose the declaration, which will siphon billions of dollars from the Military Construction budget in order to pay for a border wall.