Brown Pushes Administration to Maintain Funding for Stryker Vehicles, Fights for Workers at Lima’s JSMC

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown called on the Biden administration to maintain funding for the Stryker Family of Vehicles, manufactured in part at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center (JSMC) in Lima.

In a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young, and Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth, Brown details how critically important this combat system is to the U.S. Military and our defense industrial base. Brown lays out how the reduction in funding could threaten military readiness and hurt the JSMC's skilled workforce, including members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2075, who support the manufacturing of the M1 Abrams tanks.

"It's my understanding that the Army's Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) fiscal year (FY) 2025 through FY 2029 proposes to drastically reduce Stryker procurement funding by more than $1.6 billion, or 496 vehicles. These shortsighted cuts would impose significant costs on the U.S. Army and Stryker's domestic industrial base, and I urge you to reconsider this proposal and replace it with one that recognizes the value of the Stryker FoV and maintains an investment in this essential technology and the manufacturing community supporting it.," wrote Brown to the administration officials.

Brown continued, "Cutting Stryker funding threatens both military readiness and the industrial base - both workforce and manufacturers - that ensure our continued military superiority. Of particular concern is the impact such disinvestment could have on the JSMC's skilled workforce - which also supports the M1 Abrams tank. Reduced funding would impose a deep workforce reduction that could only be revived with much effort and at great cost. In addition, cuts to the Stryker F0V would impact hundreds of manufacturers - and their employees - throughout the nation. In fact, 80 suppliers in Ohio alone support the Stryker program - many of them small businesses that would likely need to shut down or shift work elsewhere if the Army maintains its plan of deep reductions."

Recently, Brown was able to secure $402 million for the Stryker vehicle production and $773 million for the M1 Abrams tank production in the Senate version of the bipartisan FY2025National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the country's annual national defense bill. The bill text has been negotiated by both parties in the Senate and represents an important step forward in process of making the national defense bill law. It is expected be voted on by the Senate in the coming months.

The full letter is HERE or below.

Dear Secretary Austin, Director Young, and Secretary Wormuth:

As the U.S. Army works to sustain and modernize its Stryker Family of Vehicles (FoV), I ask that you maintain funding for this critically important combat system, which is manufactured in part at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center (JSMC) in Lima, Ohio. It's my understanding that the Army's Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) fiscal year (FY) 2025 through FY 2029 proposes to drastically reduce Stryker procurement funding by more than $1.6 billion, or 496 vehicles. These shortsighted cuts would impose significant costs on the U.S. Army and Stryker's domestic industrial base, and I urge you to reconsider this proposal and replace it with one that recognizes the value of the Stryker FoV and maintains an investment in this essential technology and the manufacturing community supporting it.

The Stryker FoV are the Army's workhorse - a proven combat vehicle fleet that provides highly-mobile, versatile, and essential support for U.S. servicemembers and our allies. To date, the Stryker FoV has logged over 30 million combat miles in more than 23 deployments and is currently a key deterrent force in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Despite the Stryker FoV's proven capabilities, the Army's FYDP for FY 2025-29 proposes a Stryker vehicle reduction of 58 percent from previous FYDPs and sends a dangerous signal that the Army intends to phase out Stryker production with no replacement in place.

Cutting Stryker funding threatens both military readiness and the industrial base - both workforce and manufacturers - that ensure our continued military superiority. Of particular concern is the impact such disinvestment could have on the JSMC's skilled workforce - which also supports the M1 Abrams tank. Reduced funding would impose a deep workforce reduction that could only be revived with much effort and at great cost. In addition, cuts to the Stryker F0V would impact hundreds of manufacturers - and their employees - throughout the nation. In fact, 80 suppliers in Ohio alone support the Stryker program - many of them small businesses that would likely need to shut down or shift work elsewhere if the Army maintains its plan of deep reductions.

Even without a reduction to the Stryker FoV, I am concerned the Army currently has no plan to modernize the Stryker platform beyond its current configuration. Future planning is necessary to ensure the Stryker FoV's operational effectiveness for the envisioned, complex battlefield of the future.

I urge you to invest in our national security by keeping the funding at $1.6 billion over the next 4 years and reconsider plans to shift investment away from this essential line of equipment and the talented, domestic manufacturing base behind it. Additionally, I respectfully request a briefing on the Army's plan for the Stryker platform and the plan to address the risks inherent in its current funding position.

Sincerely,

###

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.