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Regular Session, 2014
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 92
BY SENATOR JOHN SMITH
MILITARY AFFAIRS. Expresses support of the U.S. Armed Services Active Duty, Reserve
Component and National Guard; recognizes the impact of the military on Louisiana's
economy; requests the governor of Louisiana to resource adequately those efforts designed
to protect and promote the missions, quality of life and economic viability of Louisiana's
military installations and defense communities.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON1
To urge and request the governor of Louisiana to express support of the United States2
Armed Services Active Duty, Reserve Component and National Guard; to recognize3
the impact of the military on Louisiana's economy; to resource adequately those4
efforts designed to protect and promote the missions, quality of life and economic5
viability of Louisiana's military installation and defense communities.6
WHEREAS, Moody Analytics' Precis lists the number one, four and five largest7
employers in Louisiana other than state government as Fort Polk, Barksdale Air Force Base,8
and the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base; and9
WHEREAS, the 2013 Statewide Military Economic Impact Analysis, commissioned10
by the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, indicates an annual military11
economic impact of $8.7 billion to the Louisiana economy; and12
WHEREAS, the military economy supports 82,800 jobs throughout Louisiana,13
representing 4.35% of total state employment, annually contributes $287.3 million in state14
and local revenue, and represents 2.20% of Louisiana's gross domestic product; and15
WHEREAS, the military economy is measurable in every region of Louisiana,16
having an impact of: $286 million in the Acadiana region, $527 million in the Bayou region,17
$793 million in the Capital region, $1.76 billion in Central Louisiana, $141 million in18 SCR NO. 92
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Northeast Louisiana, $1.86 billion in Northwest Louisiana, $2.86 billion in Southeast1
Louisiana, and $508 million in Southwest Louisiana; and2
WHEREAS, Barksdale Air Force Base provides an annual impact of $1.15 billion3
to the Louisiana economy; and4
WHEREAS, Fort Polk and the Joint Readiness Training Center provides an annual5
impact of $2.17 billion to the Louisiana economy; and6
WHEREAS, the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base-New Orleans, based in Belle7
Chasse, Louisiana, provides an annual $573 million impact to the Louisiana economy; and8
WHEREAS, the Marine Corps Support Facility-New Orleans, home of the Marine9
Forces Reserve and Marine Forces North Commands, which combined are the largest10
commands in the United States Marine Corps, provide an annual $269 million impact to11
Louisiana's economy; and12
WHEREAS, the Space and Naval Warfare Systems (SPAWAR) Center Atlantic,13
Detachment New Orleans, provides an annual impact of $147 million to Louisiana's14
economy; and15
WHEREAS, the Louisiana National Guard provides an annual impact of $69416
million to Louisiana's economy; and17
WHEREAS, the proposed fiscal year 2015 budget for the U.S. Department of18
Defense will shrink by more than $75 billion over the next two years and could shrink even19
more pending full enactment of "Sequestration"; and20
WHEREAS, the proposed budget calls for reducing the size of the Army to as low21
as 440,000 active duty soldiers from its current size of 520,000; and22
WHEREAS, the proposed budget envisions a five percent reduction in the Army23
National Guard and Army Reserve; and24
WHEREAS, the Air Force proposes to eliminate the entire A-10 "Warthog" fleet,25
having begun these cuts originally in 1992, then in 2005, and again in 2012, at Louisiana26
military installations; and27
WHEREAS, the fiscal year 2015 budget proposes a round of base closures and28
realignments to occur in 2017; and29
WHEREAS, these strategic cuts are applied to the U.S. Armed Forces across the30 SCR NO. 92
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globe and these actions and their predecessors have been felt in Louisiana; and1
WHEREAS, in 2013, the United States Army's 2020 plan to reduce the force from2
570,000 to 490,000 personnel threatened to eliminate the 4
th
Brigade Combat Team of the3
10
th
Mountain Division, the largest brigade at Fort Polk; and4
WHEREAS, the Army's current Programmatic Environmental Assessment continues5
to restructure the force to as low as 440,000 soldiers, thereby revisiting the possibility of6
deep cuts at Fort Folk; and7
WHEREAS, in 2012, the Air Force initiated cuts to the overall A-10 fleet, resulting8
in the loss of approximately 500 personnel at Barksdale Air Force Base; and9
WHEREAS, in 2012, the Air Force proposed to eliminate the 259
th
Air Traffic10
Control Squadron of the Louisiana Air National Guard, which provides air traffic control11
services to both civilian and military aircraft, particularly those in support of training12
operations at Fort Polk; and 13
WHEREAS, in 2012, the U.S. Navy eliminated the VAW-77 "Night Wolves"14
squadron of E-2s and its critical drug interdiction mission, resulting in the loss of15
approximately 150 personnel; and16
WHEREAS, the U.S. Navy VFA-204 "River Rattlers" squadron of F/A-18s continues17
to experience persistent underfunding of maintenance requirement, potentially jeopardizing18
the airworthiness and mission capability of the squadron, and potentially denying U.S. air19
combat forces ideal adversarial training; and20
WHEREAS, the U.S. Air Force proposes to eliminate three F-15s from the Louisiana21
Air National Guard 159
th
Fighter Wing, which maintains the only Active Duty mission at the22
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base and is among only five Alert Missions in the United23
States that remain on 24-hour stand by to protect America's perimeter defenses; and24
WHEREAS, the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command25
(SPAWAR) instituted a rule in 2013 preventing Navy Working Capital Fund enterprises like26
SPAWAR New Orleans from supporting mission requirements of non-Navy federal27
programs and clients, including the Veterans Administration; and28
WHEREAS, force restructure and cuts to Louisiana- based personnel and assets have29
largely occurred outside the bounds of congressional oversight or in the formal environment30 SCR NO. 92
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of an official Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC); and1
WHEREAS, unchallenged, these threats to operations and assets at Louisiana2
installations will persist, potentially resulting in loss of personnel, assets, missions and3
installations; and4
WHEREAS, Louisiana's defense communities have struggled financially to meet the5
challenge of these threats, and in some cases have been incapable of mounting any efforts6
to challenge these threats.7
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby8
express its support for the commitment, sacrifice and honor demonstrated by the service9
personnel of the United States Armed Services Active Duty, Reserve Component, and10
National Guard.11
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby12
recognize the irreplaceable impact of the military on the Louisiana economy and that action13
to protect Louisiana's defense communities must be swift and sufficient.14
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby express15
its support, and likewise urges the governor of Louisiana, to adequately resource those16
efforts designed to protect and promote the missions, quality of life and economic viability17
of Louisiana's military installations and defense communities.18
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to19
Governor Bobby Jindal.20
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Heyward Jeffers.
DIGEST
John Smith SCR No. 92
Requests the governor to express support of the United States Armed Services Active Duty,
Reserve Component and National Guard; to recognize the impact of the military on
Louisiana's economy; to urge and request the governor to adequately resource those efforts
designed to protect and promote the missions, quality of life and economic viability of
Louisiana's military installations and defense communities.