Hochul to visit threatened NF airbase

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) - Congresswoman Kathy Hochul will visit the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station Tuesday morning in hopes of finding ways to keep it from falling victim to the budget ax.

Hochul will meet with Colonel Allan L. Swartzmiller and Colonel Jim S. McCready, Jr. at the base to talk about recent defense spending cuts, that are threatening the base for the second time in seven years.

The military needs to cut $500 billion from it's budget, and many fear that smaller air bases like the one in Niagara Falls could be on the chopping block, which would be a major loss to the region.  The station is the largest employer in Niagara County, employing over 3,500 people.

United States Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said, “Our intensive review determined that we could reduce, stream line and standardize our air fleet with minimal risk. So as you'll see, we are retiring some aging C-5 a's and C-130's.”

Those last words from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's budget announcement last week, has many at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station worried, including John Cooper, vice chairman of the Niagara Military Affairs Council.

Cooper said, “Certainly that’s one thing to look at in this, that it’s a natural thing. When the Army is cutting back so much that the Air Force would also in its cargo planes.”

As Niagara Military Affairs Council Chairman Merrel Lane says, not only would the air base take a hit, the region would feel it as well.

“The economic impact for western New York is $168 million. So along with losing the jobs, that's a lot of money that goes back into the community that would be lost,” explained Lane.

Hochul will be meeting with the top air base officials Tuesday morning, to let them know she's working hard to make sure this base does in fact stay open.