Of most interest is the last item about the 4 x 737s. This is a lease contract and was a stalking horse for the proposal from Boeing to lease a 100 KC-767s to the USAF.
USAF tests waters with C-40 lease
Now that this has got through I would expect the deal for the tankers to be pushed through in the near future.
LA Times - 2nd Aug:
WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Thursday passed a $355.4-billion defense appropriation bill for 2003 that will deliver to the Pentagon the huge infusion of funds sought by President Bush after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The measure adds $34.4 billion to the U.S. defense budget. It was approved by a vote of 95 to 3, with little debate.
The increase was the largest in two decades for the Pentagon, which accounts for about 40% of the world's total spending on military weaponry. Funding for procurement, research, personnel and operations-and-maintenance programs all grow by at least 9% in the Senate bill.
The House approved its version of the legislation in June. The two chambers must resolve their differences in a conference committee.............
The Senate bill provides $3.3 billion to buy 15 C-17 cargo planes, three more than the administration had asked for. The House version would buy 12.
The Senate bill would provide $250 million to buy 21 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for the Army, nine more than the Bush administration wanted. It would provide $315 million to buy the Navy four KC-130J refueling planes that had not been requested.
It also provides money for the purchase of 23 F-22 radar-evading fighters for the Air Force and 11 V-22 tilt-rotor Ospreys for the Marines, as Bush proposed............
The vote came after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) abandoned last-minute plans to try to kill the Pentagon's proposal to lease four Boeing 737s for ferrying administration officials and lawmakers.
McCain said the deal is too expensive and denies other companies a chance to compete. But it appeared that he would have failed if his challenge had been put to a vote.