Thu, Oct 08, 2009
President Had Threatened To Veto Spending Plan If Alternate
Engine Was Included
The $636.3 billion fiscal 2010
military appropriations bill approved by the U.S. Senate Tuesday
does not include funding for the F136 alternate engine for the
Joint Strike Fighter program. The alternate engine has been the
focus of a presidential veto threat through the entire budget
process.
The bill also zeroed out funding for the VH-71 replacement
presidential helicopter, which had also drawn a veto threat. That
program will possibly start over from scratch.
The Senate passed the bill Tuesday 93-7, which sets up a
potentially contentious conference with House negotiators. The
House defense appropriations bill includes money for both
programs.
Bloomberg News reports that the authorization bill already in
conference, which actually tells the military how much it can spend
on the various programs, includes money for the JSF alternate
engine. Conferees Tuesday agreed to allocate $560 million to fund
an alternative engine for the F-35 fighter jet, sources close to
the talks said.
But the appropriations bill is the mechanism that actually makes
money available.
The House and Senate each appropriated money for additional C-17
cargo planes, thought the Senate bill would fund seven more than
the house measure. The Senate rebuffed Senator John McCain, who
offered amendments to spend that money on equipment and
maintenance, and then simply to cut C-17 funding.
The Senate bill adds up to $3.9 billion less than President
Obama had requested in his budget, and includes $128.2 billion for
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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