SC congressmen simulate F-35, budget cuts loom

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) — Two South Carolina congressmen are warning that the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is threatened by looming budget cuts that will slash both defense and domestic programs in January.

The stealth fighter is set to be deployed at both the Shaw Air force Base in Sumter and at the Beaufort Marine Air Station.

Tim Scott of the 1st Congressional District and 2nd District Congressman Joe Wilson got a chance at the controls of an F-35 flight simulator Thursday on the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in Mount Pleasant.

They warned that the fighter will be a prime target for cuts with $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts in both federal domestic and military spending. The cuts are scheduled because a bi-partisan congressional panel could not agree earlier on trimming the federal budget.