Senator Tammy Duckworth says President Trump’s proposal to divert funding from an Air National Guard firehouse in Peoria is “reckless and irresponsible.”
The Illinois Democrat made the comment Tuesday after the Trump Administration said funding designated for Illinois military facilities could be used to build the president’s border wall.
Congress allocated $55 million for projects including a new crash and rescue facility for the Peoria-based 182nd Airlift Wing. Funding designated for Scott Air Force Base and the Illinois National Guard in Marseilles is also threatened.
Duckworth - a combat Veteran - says President Trump’s proposal to use the money for the border wall threatens military readiness. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and other Democrats expressed the same concern last week in a letter to the Department of Defense.
Duckworth spent 23 years in the Reserve Forces. Her service included flying helicopters out of the Peoria airport.
