U.s. Congress Authorizes Cash For Second F-35 Fighter Motor
The Senate, by a vote of 68 to 29 yesterday, passed a $680 billion defense bill that authorizes spending for military programs and sets policy. The measure passed the House Oct. 8 and now goes to President Barack Obama.
White House officials have said the president would veto any defense spending measure that includes money for the second engine to back up the F-35 power plant developed by United Technologies Corp.s Pratt & Whitney unit if that spending would cause a “serious disruption” to the F-35 program.
Negotiators on the fiscal 2010 defense authorization measure added $560 million for continued development of the alternative engine, made by Fairfield, Connecticut-based General Electric Co. and London-based Rolls Royce Plc.
Funding for the second engine is also in the separate appropriations legislation for defense programs which has passed the House. The engine funding isnt in the Senate-passed version, and money authorized in the policy measure cant be spent unless it is in the appropriations bill.
House and Senate leaders havent begun negotiations toward a compromise on the appropriations measure. A pivotal senator in those talks said yesterday he wouldnt oppose funding the engine.
No Problem
“I have no problem” with that, Senator Daniel Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and its defense panel, said in an interview.
Inouye will lead his chambers negotiations with the House. Senate support in the defense policy measure “makes the case stronger” for funding the engine in the appropriations bill, he said. Inouye voted for the measure yesterday.
The legislation includes a provision to add gays to the groups entitled to protections under U.S. hate-crime laws.
It also contains $130 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with about $7.5 billion is designated to train Afghan security forces.
The new funding would bring to more than $1 trillion the money spent since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks for the wars, veterans care, embassy protection and enhanced domestic security, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Shocked and Surprised
Democrat Carl Levin of Michigan, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said yesterday hed be “totally shocked and surprised” if the White House vetoed the policy bill over the engine issue because the measure contains the war funding and provisions to expedite the transfer of military equipment from Iraq to strengthen the Afghan military.
“It doesnt compute thered be even a hint of a veto,” Levin told reporters after the Senate vote.
The defense measure also sets requirements on use of funds to aid Pakistan in fighting militants. The U.S. secretaries of state and defense must report to Congress on whether the money is being spent in a way that supports U.S. national security interests and doesnt harm “the balance of power in the region.”
Some legislators have called for the U.S. to ensure that funds designed to help Pakistan combat Islamic militants like al-Qaeda arent diverted to building up armaments and defenses against India.
Pakistan has received about $7.6 billion in military reimbursements for its support of counterterrorism efforts since 2001, according to a February report issued by the Congressional Research Service.
Concerted Efforts