Lindsey Graham speaks about defense spending in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 2, 2012. (Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (Gannett Washington Bureau) -- Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham want to delay proposed Air Force cuts to the Air National Guard until completion of studies comparing the cost of Guard units to the cost of active-duty units.
Leahy, a Democrat, and Graham, a Republican, are co-chairmen of the Senate National Guard Caucus. In Senate floor speeches on Thursday, they said studies already show the Air National Guard is less expensive than active-duty units and are equally capable.
Cutting the Air National Guard now would be "dangerously premature," Leahy said.
"Once you cut the reserve component, sending their aircraft to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and their airmen and pilots to civilian life, you do not get them back," he said.
Leahy and Graham authored legislation that became law last year requiring the cost-comparison studies. Once the studies are completed, they said, the Senate should help the Pentagon craft a manpower strategy that relies on the Guard and Reserve.
"I call on our Pentagon leaders and all of my colleagues in the Senate to join Sen. Leahy and me in working for a more original approach to the financial strains our country is facing," Graham said.
The Air Force has proposed saving $8.7 billion by retiring more than 200 aircraft and cutting personnel, including about 3,000 active-duty members, more than 5,000 guardsmen and fewer than 1,000 Air Force Reserve members. The cuts were designed to meet deficit-reduction requirements that were part of the August deal to increase the nation's debt limit.
The Air Force says it has already reduced its active-duty force to the point where further reductions would limit its ability to respond to multiple crises or sustain long commitments without asking all service members -- including guardsmen and reservists -- to deploy at unsustainable rates.
President Barack Obama will send Congress his proposed fiscal 2013 budget on Monday. Graham's staff doesn't believe the nationwide cuts would affect South Carolina's Air National Guard for now.
Leahy said he is "deeply disappointed and very worried" about preliminary information the Air Force released last week.
The two senators, arguing for a larger Reserve component and a smaller active-duty force, highlighted previous studies showing guardsmen and reservists cost far less than active-duty members, even when mobilized.
Graham said Air National Guard data shows the Air Guard costs $2.25 billion less to operate each year than a similarly sized active-duty Air Force command.
Leahy said an approach that leans more heavily on the Guard and Reserve would save resources "at a time when we desperately need to tighten our belts."
"All of us in the Senate agree that our military must remain strong and vigilant to threats from our enemies," Leahy said. "But the source of our military strength has been, and will always be, our economic might."
Nicole Gaudiano, Gannett Washington Bureau
Raju Chebium, Gannett Washington Bureau.