Facing a potentially tough election in 2010, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd rallied Thursday to the side of union members in his state whose jobs are at risk under an Obama administration budget proposal.
"I'm here today to tell you that I'll do everything I can ... to make our case to our colleagues. That is where the final defense will be for this program," Dodd told members of the Hartford chapter of the International Association of Machinists.
The group would take a big hit under Defense Secretary Robert Gates' budget proposal, which calls for halting production of the F-22 jet -- the jet's engines are made in Connecticut.
But Dodd, along with Connecticut Rep. John Larson, met with union members Thursday to assure them they'd battle Gates over the issue. Dodd has fought before to save the F-22 program, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, and he said Thursday that party distinction doesn't matter to him at a time when his constituents are worried about keeping food on the table.
"I'd much rather have the secretary on my side, but we've beaten him in the past and we'll beat them this time as well," Dodd said.
The tough talk came after Dodd heard the concerns of the union.
"We're very concerned the job base for aerospace would take a blow on this," said Frank Larkin, spokesman for the International Association of Machinists. - Fox News Story
In a time of massive job losses the Dept. of Defense has decided to cut programs that could cost another 90,000 jobs and those cuts are causing a bipartisan effort to stop some of those cuts.
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