Boyda saves taxpayers $1.1 million

Great news from Congresswoman Nancy Boyda via the Kansas Democratic Party blog:

On Wednesday, Congresswoman Boyda will join Kansas Adjutant General Todd Bunting to announce the planned retirement of Forbes Field's 12 obsolete KC-135E refueling tankers.

Until this year, the National Guard was required by law to maintain the aircraft, even though they no longer serve any national security purpose. Now, under a provision of the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act requested by Congresswoman Boyda, the planes are scheduled for retirement.

The move is expected to save taxpayers at least $1.1 million per year.

We covered this story once before when it was just in the very beginning stages, and we're glad to have the chance to announce now that Boyda's plan has been approved.

As we said in our previous post:

According to the article, eight of those KC-135Es are currently located at Forbes Field in Topeka, with four more expected to arrive soon. The planes are no longer needed, but current federal law requires the planes to be kept at "warm-ready" status- resulting in an expenditure of $1.1 million annually in Topeka alone.

And, just so no one says anything about this bring "anti-military," the Guard thinks it's a good idea, too.

Sharon Watson, spokeswoman for the Kansas National Guard, said the act should result in freed-up space and money at Forbes.

"We have a number of planes stored at 190th Air Refueling Wing that would be impossible to retire given the former legislation," she said. "We're very pleased to see this bill pass."

Great job, Congresswoman Boyda!