SPOKANE — Rescue helicopters that President Bush had proposed moving from Fairchild Air Force Base are more likely to remain at the base outside Spokane after a compromise bill passed Friday.
The helicopters have been involved in the rescue of hundreds of civilians, but the Bush administration proposed moving them to other bases.
That drew opposition from members of Congress throughout the region.
An amendment inserted in the Department of Defense Authorization Act that was passed by the Senate on Friday required additional study before the helicopters can be moved. The bill now goes to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
“Fairchild’s rescue flight helicopters train thousands of air crews each year how to survive real combat situations,” U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a news release. “Over 35 years, they have rescued more than 600 people in the Northwest.”
The helicopters provide the only search and rescue capabilities over a wide region of the Inland Northwest, in parts of Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon.
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