By Emelie Rutherford
Senate appropriators approved yesterday a supplement war-funding bill lacking weapon-system add-ons for C-17 cargo aircraft and Stryker vehicles in the version the House passed yesterday, likely leaving the fate of the plus-ups to House-Senate negotiators.
The fiscal year 2009 supplemental the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) marked up yesterday also calls for boosting funding for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Mine- Resistant Vehicles (M-ATVs) above President Obama’s request, but proposes a smaller increase than the House bill does.
Even though the SAC’s proposed supplemental includes no funds for C-17s, Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) pledged during the markup to support buying more of the Boeing aircraft the Pentagon wants to stop ordering. Aides said Inouye, also the chair of the defense subcommittee, likely will agree to fund the cargo aircraft in the final supplemental a House-Senate conference committee will craft after next week’s expected Senate vote. The House-passed supplemental recommends adding $2.2 billion for eight C-17s to the Obama administration’s proposal.
After Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) during the SAC meeting said support is strong on the committee for adding C-17 funding, Inouye said: “I would be pleased to work with those senators to maintain the program.”
“I very much appreciate the importance of the C-17 program and its contribution to military and humanitarian needs worldwide,” he added. “The committee has been monitoring airlift requirements and capabilities carefully to ensure the appropriate size and mix of airlift is provided to the Department of Defense.”
Inouye said Feinstein has “good reason to be optimistic” Congress will keep the C-17 program running, saying his is committed to finding a “responsible way to maintain the program.”
Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) said he and Feinstein opted against offering a C-17 funding amendment at the markup because he is “satisfied that we will be able to solve this shortfall.” Bond noted that the Pentagon is undergoing an air-mobility capability study that is reexamining its airlift needs, while Feinstein touted C-17 attributes including it high mission-capable rate.
Inouye did not address Stryker funding during the markup, though he did this week express support for buying more of the General Dynamics [GD] vehicles and singled out the ambulance versions (Defense Daily, May 14). The SAC-approved bill would fund just the six Stryker mobile-gun-system vehicles requested by the administration and also supported by the House. Yet the House bill also calls for adding to the administration’s supplemental $338.4 million for 225 Stryker medical-evaluation vehicles and 35 Stryker engineering-squad vehicles.
The SAC’s supplemental also lacks the proposed $904.2 billion plus-up in the House bill for 11 of Lockheed Martin‘s [LMT] C-130J cargo planes.
The Senate panel’s supplemental would increase the administration’s M-ATV proposal by $1.55 billion, boosting the White House’s $2.69 billion supplemental request to $4.24 billion. The House called for a larger M-ATV plus-up of $2.15 billion, which would raise the total to $4.84 billion in the supplemental. The House Appropriations Committee estimates $4.24 billion would buy 1,800 of the new type of mine-resistant vehicles.
Inouye at the markup highlighted his support for adding to the White House’s supplemental $1.55 billion more for M-ATVs and $230 million more for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.
“These initiatives are high priorities for the secretary of defense, and we have worked have closely with the department to identify the suitable requirements,” Inouye said.
The House and SAC both back the administration’s request for buying four F-22 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin, the final ones Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to buy. The SAC also recommends deleting funding for shutting down the F-22 line.
The Senate panel’s supplemental also calls for adding to the administration’s request monies to buy a Lockheed Martin P-3 maritime-patrol aircraft for the Navy, funds not in the House’s bill.
The supplemental is intended to cover war-related operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan through the end of fiscal year 2009 on Sept. 30 (Defense Daily, April 13).
President Obama on April 9 requested $75.5 billion in war funding within a supplemental bill totaling $83.4 billion, which later grew with additional non-war requests.
The House bill totals $96.7 billion. The SAC’s bill is worth more than $91 billion.