September 12, 2023

Manchin Questions Nominee for Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), questioned General David W. Allvin, USAF on his nomination to be Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force. Senator Manchin questioned General Allvin on the importance of passing a national budget on time, reinstating the Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Management Officer position and providing air support to Ukraine.

On the military and economic importance of passing a national budget on time:

“I’m concerned about the budget delays and the cost of a CR to our military, our readiness, and the value of our dollar,” Senator Manchin said in part. “We’ve been told that from 1991 to 2010, the delays for defense appropriations was about 29 days. Since 2010, it’s over 118 days. The American Enterprise Institute threw out a rough estimate of $200 million per day under the latest continuing resolution that covered the start of Fiscal Year 2023. That’s a total of $18 billion.”

On reinstating the DoD Chief Management Officer position:

“I very much believe the Department of Defense needs this person with the authority to conduct risk evaluations and risk assessments so that we can better utilize the money we have and make sure our defense is the best,” Senator Manchin continued. “If we don’t utilize the money we have accurately and have accountability and auditing, I’m concerned. If you would support the Chief Management Officer position, I think it’d be a tremendous asset to the entire Department of Defense.”

On providing air support to Ukraine against Putin’s invasion:

“Ukraine has been asking for F-16s for quite some time and we’ve been reluctant…they’ve been asking for long range missiles and we’ve been reluctant. They’ve been asking for Reapers to be able to deliver long range missiles. Can you give me an evaluation of the air war that we have and what they’re going to need to be successful?” Senator Manchin questioned. “The delay in F-16s – why did it take so long?”

A video of Senator Manchin’s questioning of the witness can be found here.

A timeline of Senator Manchin's work to support Ukraine against Putin's invasion is available here.