Congressman Matt Cartwright issued the following statement today on the amendment introduced by Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) to the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act:
"The Jenkins amendment represents an extremely irresponsible proposal that would destroy a part of our country's industrial base and put at risk the military readiness of our nation. Further, it would put thousands out of a job here in northeastern Pennsylvania and across the U.S. Introduced by Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins, this amendment would have a devastating impact on all military depots and arsenals, including our own Tobyhanna Army Depot, by barring them from important work assignments. The amendment would prohibit any transfer of military workload from private sector contractors to our public sector workers, such as those at Tobyhanna, except for inherently governmental functions. Under the amendment, this key phrase--inherently governmental functions--would not be defined by the Department of Defense but by the Office of Management and Budget. When it comes to military readiness, it is absolutely necessary these decisions be left to our Secretary of Defense and not a non-military bureaucracy.
"The Department of Defense has expressed its strong opposition to this proposal, which would put at risk the livelihood of our district's largest employer, the Tobyhanna Army Depot. For decades, Tobyhanna has supported our military's communications and electronic systems, providing a critical function to ensure our national security. While private contractors provide an indispensable service to our nation, we cannot gut our military of the crucial services that Tobyhanna and other military depots provide. I will always fight to support Tobyhanna's unique role in ensuring the mission readiness and the warfighting capabilities of our armed forces."