Officials react to plans for cuts at Hill Air Force Base

Gov. Gary Herbert: "Utah's Hill Air Force Base is unquestionably a critical component of our nation's modern defense system. This state is deeply disappointed with today's announcement, particularly given the lack of public process and absence of local input. With so much other waste in Washington, this hasty decision appears to be short-sighted and even counter-productive, jeopardizing the modernization of the country's defense. While some are saying this is a done deal, this is not over — we will exhaust every option to keep Hill as one of nation's premier defense installations and preserve valuable jobs for Utahns."

Sen Orrin Hatch, R-Utah: "The Air Force's decision ignores the basic fact that the men and women at Hill Air Force Base are among the hardest-working and most efficient workers in our armed forces. It's simply the wrong decision as anyone who's visited Hill well knows. I firmly believe that the command at Hill and the Ogden Air Logistics Center would be able to work with the Air Force to meet the service's – and Utahns' – goal of saving taxpayer dollars and maintaining the strongest military in the world. I’m going to continue to press the Air Force on maintaining the current logistics center infrastructure and do everything I can to ensure the 24,000 jobs at Hill remain in northern Utah."

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah: "The planned reorganization of the Air Force Materiel Command, which will significantly affect Hill Air Force Base, should be shelved immediately. The announcement came with very little coordination or communication with Utah’s representatives and many important questions remain. The Air Force has pursued this plan with an unsettling amount of secrecy and during the process failed to provide adequate details regarding personnel reductions and possible relocation sites, despite assurances that those would be made in a fair and open manner. It has failed to perform a business-case analysis, which is necessary to determine whether the reorganization will even accomplish its stated goal. I repeatedly and specifically asked the Air Force to postpone its announcement until these issues had been resolved, but it was unwilling to change its plans. As a result, I plan to fight this plan on all fronts."

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah: "In light of the fact that many questions remain unanswered and no Business Case Analysis has been conducted, I remain deeply concerned that the Air Force has chosen to proceed with the announcement of this proposal. A BCA is an essential step that must be taken to determine whether these decisions will be beneficial or detrimental to Utah and air logistics capabilities as a whole.  This necessary analysis would provide evidence as to whether or not this would actually benefit taxpayers or end up costing more in the long run as many suspect.  The Air Force has remained elusive about the details of this plan, including their refusal to conduct a BCA. They have been less than forthcoming about what personnel reductions may occur and where, as well as the overall impact this will have on jobs, Utah, Hill AFB and efficiency amongst all Air Logistics Centers. Subsequently, I have requested on several occasions, in writing and in person, that Air Force Secretary Michael Donley immediately halt the implementation of this plan. I want to do what is best for the Air Force and for the nation but so far the Air Force has yet to prove that this proposal is in the best 
interest of the country."

Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah: "There is a process in place for how these workforce decisions are made. I have concerns that in this case, the Department of Defense’s own rules and regulations were not followed. That raises questions about how appropriate the job reductions are, given the importance of Hill's mission and the excellence and efficiency shown by Hill's employees in our national defense."