MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on a legislative resolution supporting new F-35 fighter jets at an Air National Guard base in Madison (all times local):
1:30 p.m.
The state Senate has passed a resolution supporting new F-35 fighter jets at Madison’s Truax Field.
The U.S. Department of Defense is considering housing two squadrons of the state-of-the-art fighter at the base. Neighbors are outraged at the prospect. An environmental impact statement says noise from the jets would render more than 1,000 homes incompatible for residential use.
Republican legislators crafted a resolution supporting F-35s at Truax. The resolution says the planes could help keep the base open and preserve its economic impact.
The Senate debated the resolution first on Tuesday. Sens. Fred Risser and Jon Erpenbach, two Madison-area Democrats, tried to amend the resolution to ask the U.S. Air Force to continue studying the jets’ environmental and health impacts but the attempt failed and the body ultimately passed the resolution on a voice vote.
The Assembly is expected to vote on the resolution Thursday.
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10:40 a.m.
Republican lawmakers are trying to drum up support for a resolution supporting new F-35 fighter jets at Truax Field in Madison.
Truax is one of two leading locations under consideration for housing two squadrons of F-35s. An environmental impact statement says noise from the jets could render more than 1,000 homes incompatible for residential use.
Republican legislators have crafted a resolution supporting F-35s in Madison. The Senate is set to vote on the resolution Tuesday with the Assembly following suit on Thursday.
The resolution’s two chief sponsors, Rep. Tony Kurtz and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, appeared at a news conference Tuesday morning to tout the resolution.
Both said placing F-35s would benefit the entire state. Kurtz says the new planes would work with the 128th Air Refueling Wing in Milwaukee. Fitzgerald said placing the planes in Madison would keep Truax from closing, preserving jobs and the field’s economic impact.
Both Fitzgerald and Kurtz wore fighter plane lapel pins to the news conference.
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5:30 a.m.
Republicans who control the Wisconsin Senate are preparing to vote on a resolution supporting new F-35 fighter jets at an Air National Guard base in Madison.
Truax Field is one of five locations under consideration for housing two squadrons of F-35s. An environmental impact statement says noise from the jets could render more than 1,000 homes incompatible for residential use, stirring up stiff opposition from local residents. Democratic lawmakers from the Madison area have been pushing back against housing the jets.
The Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a resolution supporting F-35s in Madison. The resolution declares F-35s would ensure Truax Field’s long-term viability.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald wrote the resolution. Fitzgerald is a retired U.S. Army Reserve lieutenant colonel and is running for Congress in a district that includes Milwaukee suburbs.
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This story has been updated to correct throughout that the environmental impact statement found that more than 1,000 homes would be incompatible for residential use, not uninhabitable.
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