Defense News:
F-22 Gets Through House Committee, May Face Obstacle On Floor
A day after the U.S. Senate voted to halt production of F-22 stealth fighters, the House Appropriations Committee signaled it is likely to go along.
The committee voted July 22 to spend $369 million to buy another dozen F-22s, but Rep. David Obey, the committee chairman, said that has to change.
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In light of the Senate vote and a threat from the White House to veto any bill that contains money for new F-22s, Obey said House appropriators must "recognize that conditions have changed" on the F-22.
Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said he tried to draft an amendment "to adjust for the F-22," but he "couldn't get it together fast enough" for the Appropriations Committee's 9 a.m. markup and vote.
An aide said Murtha now plans to offer an amendment that would spend the $369 million on spare parts and engines for existing F-22s rather than on new ones, an aide said. The amendment would be proposed when the full House takes up the defense spending bill, probably July 30.
Obey said he was "dubious about moving forward" with F-22 funding still in the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill, and he called for "an attitude adjustment on both sides" of the F-22 issue......