Sen. Sherrod Brown says ‘tax cuts’ would impact Wright-Patt, budget

Trump transition team defends proposed cuts saying they will help ‘all Americans’ succeed.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown cautioned Friday that expected “tax cuts for the rich” under the incoming Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress would mean a “bigger hole in the budget.”

“We’re either going to get a much bigger deficit or there won’t be the dollars there ought to be for everything from Headstart to Wright-Patt and that’s a big concern,” the Ohio Democrat said.

The Trump transition team released a statement defending the expected tax cuts.

“President-elect Trump’s America First agenda has already benefited Americans by saving and creating jobs for the American people,” the statement said. “His plan for tax reform reduces taxes across-the-board, especially for working Americans who will receive a massive tax reduction, ensures that top income earners pay their fair share and create a pro-growth environment where all Americans can succeed.”

Brown met with about 15 tech start-up, defense contractors and military leaders Friday in a round-table forum at the University of Dayton Research Institute where his concerns about the tax cuts impact on the budget and other issues arose.

The senator learned, among other issues, about problems local firms face recruiting and retaining engineers in a hot job market, the lengthy security clearance process to work on national security projects in the region and the growing needs of aging infrastructure at Wright-Patterson.

Connie Sawdey, president of Sawdey Solutions Services, Inc. in Beavercreek, said strong employer demands to hire engineers and the time it takes for employees to get a security clearance have both posed challenges.

The security clearance process has reached “a crawl,” she told Brown. “For us, we can’t hire them until they are cleared.”

Along with competition for talent, U.S. citizenship requirements to work on defense projects have created a talent shortage in some areas.

“Workforce development is always, always, always going to be a problem,” said Nina Joshi, president and CEO of UES Inc. in Dayton.

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With a new incoming administration, a renewed round of military base closures and mission realignments has a higher chance, said Joseph Sciabica, a former Air Force Research Laboratory executive director and now president of the Universal Technology Corp. in Dayton. A Defense Department study last year showed the Army and the Air Force will have about a third more infrastructure than either needs by 2019.

“I think the next administration coming in with their business perspective is going to look and say, ‘I don’t operate anything at 35 percent excess capacity that is not being used,’” he said in an interview. “I think it’s actually going to provide opportunities for installations like Wright-Patterson and for the Air Force and the other departments to have a voice in how they can consolidate operations.”

Brown has noted the upcoming defense authorization bill set aside $14.4 million for Wright-Patterson infrastructure needs and another $12.6 million to consolidate two security entrances, but the sprawling base with hundreds of aging buildings has widespread demands.

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The average age of a building at Wright-Patterson is 54-years-old, said Michael Howe, deputy director of the 88th Civil Engineer Group.

Many structures were built in the World War II era, said Col. Elena Oberg, vice commander of the 88th Air Base Wing. “We have a constant issue with aging infrastructure,” she said.

Securing federal funding for military construction is highly competitive, Howe added in an interview.

“The focus is on new capabilities and not so much on taking care of existing, aging infrastructure,” he said. “We rely on other programs for that.”

With the $14.4 million congressional authorization, Wright-Patterson will replace an aging heat distribution line and add new natural gas-fired boilers to heat 19 buildings and replace a system that failed nine times since 2011, officials said.

The security gate consolidation will open in 2019 along Ohio 235, according to base authorities.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is the largest single-site employer in Ohio with a workforce of about 27,000 civilian and military employees and a more than $4 billion regional economic impact.

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