Two rival resolutions on bringing F-35 fighter jets to South Burlington landed in the Vermont House within a day of one another.
Rep. George Cross, D-Winooski, unveiled an opposing resolution at a press conference at the Statehouse Thursday, asking that Vermont be removed from the first round of basing decisions on the F-35. Cross said he will also introduce a bill next week that would establish a program to provide compensation to people affected by the F-35s, if they end up in South Burlington.
Rep. Jim McCullough, D- Williston, introduced a resolution on the House floor Wednesday which calls on the Legislature to express support for bringing the F-35 to the Vermont Air National Guard air base.
The U.S. Air Force is expected to choose a base location — South Burlington is among the options it’s mulling over — sometime this spring. There is strong local opposition in the Burlington area, primarily on the issue of increased noise from the next-generation aircraft, currently estimated to cost $130 million each. But Gov. Peter Shumlin, Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders, and Rep. Peter Welch all support bringing the F-35 to South Burlington to replace the F-16s currently flown by the Vermont Air National Guard.
McCullough’s resolution has a predecessor — in 2010 the Legislature passed a resolution to support bringing the F-35 planes to Vermont. But, Cross said, that resolution is outdated, since lawmakers who supported the resolution hadn’t yet seen the U.S. Air Force’s Environmental Impact Statement, which was released in 2012.
Cross’s resolution struck a conciliatory tone similar to that of the wind moratorium bill introduced in early January — it asks for a time-out until further impact assessments can be carried out.
“We are not asking that it never come to Burlington. We are asking that we delay the decision at this point in time until there is more information available so that a wise decision can be made at the proper time,” Cross said. Specifically, the resolution asks the Legislature to recommend South Burlington be removed from the first round of basing decisions.
Roseanne Greco, a South Burlington City Council member, retired Air Force colonel and a vocal opponent of basing the F-35s in South Burlington, also spoke along with Cross. Burlington will have plenty more chances down the road to host the fighter jets, Greco argued. “This is not Burlington’s only opportunity to get the F-35 … just the opposite. They [the U.S. Air Force] are going to buy thousands of F-35s.”
Cross doesn’t have supporters to co-introduce his bill in the House yet. A handful of representatives had originally planned to sign on, but later changed their minds, Cross said.
A small group of supporters stood behind Cross, but the crowd was light on legislators. Sen. David Zuckerman, P-Hinesburg, was there and said he plans to introduce the same resolution in the Senate. Rep. Joanna Cole, D-Burlington, also attended, saying she is concerned the F-35 basing could cause cognitive development problems for children in the surrounding region.
Asked about chances that the resolution will pass, Cross replied, “I think that it’s a long haul.”
He expects his resolution will end up in the hands of the General Housing and Military Affairs Committee; McCullough’s resolution was directed there yesterday. “The initial indication from that committee is it’s not a resolution they have a particular interest in, however that could change. Everything in the Legislature is fluid,” Cross said.
Correction: Roseanne Greco sits on the South Burlington City Council, not the Burlington City Council, as originally reported.
