Appropriator expects Defense bill to pay for 10 more
C-17s
By Megan Scully
October 22, 2009
House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John
Murtha, D-Pa., said Wednesday that he expects the fiscal 2010 Defense spending
bill will include funding to buy about 10 C-17 Globemaster III cargo planes,
but signaled he is worried about the $250 million price tag for each aircraft.
Before he signs off on the additional planes, Murtha said he
wants Boeing Co., the plane's maker, to give the government a price more
comparable to the roughly $200 million per plane the government paid as part of
the last multiyear procurement deal for C-17s, which ended in 2007.
The House-passed Defense Appropriations bill included $674
million to buy three C-17s, or $225 million per plane. The Senate version added
$2.5 billion for 10 planes.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other senior
administration officials have said repeatedly that the current plan for 205
C-17s, when combined with the existing fleet of larger C-5 Galaxy aircraft, is
enough to meet the military's airlift needs.
In a letter to appropriators last week, Office of Management
and Budget Director Peter R. Orszag estimated that buying 10 more C-17s would
cost $100 million in operations and maintenance costs annually -- in addition
to the $2.5 billion required to purchase them.
"Procuring additional C-17s is an inefficient use of
critical defense resources," he wrote.
But the aircraft program, which employs more than 30,000
people in 43 states, has a legion of supporters on Capitol Hill who do not want
to see the plane's production lines stopped.
Meanwhile, Murtha said there still has been no decision by
House and Senate conferees on whether to include funding for the
problem-plagued VH-71 presidential helicopter program, which the administration
has sought to cancel because of soaring costs and schedule delays.
Defying a veto threat from the White House, the House passed
a bill with an added $400 million to make five initial "Increment 1"
helicopters operational, reflecting Murtha's concerns that the military already
had invested $3.2 billion in the program.
The Senate bill included only the funds requested to cancel
the program.
In a "heartburn" letter to appropriators Oct. 14,
Gates said he would personally recommend the president veto the defense bill if
it includes funds to continue the VH-71 program. Making the five aircraft
operational, he said, would cost an additional $2 billion -- and the
helicopters would still not meet full operational requirements.
Undeterred, Murtha is still speaking with the administration
about the issue. "We're still negotiating, trying to convince them,"
he said.
In another move the Pentagon strongly opposes, conferees are
expected to include funding in the bill to keep alive the second engine program
for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Murtha said. The House bill includes $560
million for the engine, while the Senate bill contained no funding, effectively
allowing the administration to terminate the program.
The White House has said it would veto the bill if officials
determine that funding the alternate engine would seriously disrupt the overall
F-35 program.
Despite some lingering issues that still must be resolved,
Murtha said the bill would be ready for a final vote as early as next week.
But House leaders still are weighing whether to attach to
the must-pass measure unrelated legislation, such as a Washington, D.C.,
voting rights bill or legislation to raise the national debt limit.
The bill also could become the vehicle for an omnibus fiscal
2010 spending bill or a continuing resolution that would keep the government
operating beyond the end of November.
House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee ranking member
C.W. (Bill) Young, R-Fla., said he has put Democrats "on notice" not
to add contentious and unrelated legislation to the spending bill.
But Young said he might support the addition of a needed
continuing resolution, depending on what is included in the CR.
Young added that he believes an omnibus bill -- which could
include the defense bill -- likely will be necessary. To date only four of the
12 annual spending bills have been sent to the president for his signature.
House Transportation-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee
Chairman John Olver, D-Mass., agreed that an omnibus is likely in the offing.
