Congressman Jim Jordan showing off the quality work done at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center.
Jordan invited Ohio 8th District Congressman Warren Davidson to tour the United States' only tank plant. With the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act, the workers at the JSMC will have constant work with the next generation of the Abrams and the upgrades to the Stryker vehicles.
“We are trying to make sure the right kind of things get done with the armed services and the defense budget. But I think people understand, and I know Congressman Davidson understands that when you have just one place in the entire country, where you put together an important part of our national defense, the tank, which is right here in Lima Ohio, you want to make sure it’s getting the resources it needs,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R) Ohio's 4th District Congressman.
Being an army veteran, who worked along side the Abrams tank, Congressman Davidson knows about the importance of the vehicle. He says that Congress has emphasized military readiness and making sure there is enough funding for equipment and troops, which is not there yet.
“Unfortunately this past year, we had more training fatalities than we had combat fatalities. Part of that is testament to how good the equipment is that our troops have. We have been involved with a lot of combat this past year. But the training fatalities highlight how much our troops need in readiness right now. So we are under resourcing those folks,” said Rep. Warren Davidson, (R) Ohio’s 8th District Congressman.
Davidson says the house passed their appropriation bills for the military, but the Senate hasn’t been able to approve military funding. He added that he was excited to see the high quality work done by the skilled workers of the JSMC.
