By Emelie Rutherford
The Senate in a 91-5 vote last night granted final approval to a $106 billion supplemental war-funding bill that adds funding for cargo planes and armored vehicles to the Pentagon’s request.
President Obama is expected to sign the long-delayed supplemental into law as soon as today. Most of the funding in it is intended to cover war-related operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan through the end of fiscal year 2009 on Sept. 30.
The final legislation, a compromise reached last week by House-Senate negotiators, funds eight of Boeing‘s [BA] C-17 cargo planes at a cost of $2.2 billion, nearly the same amount in a previous House-passed bill but more than in the earlier Senate measure that included none of the aircraft. The supplemental includes $504 million for seven C-130J transport aircraft, fewer of the Lockheed Martin [LMT] aircraft than the House wanted; the Senate, though, previously proposed no C-130Js. The Pentagon did not request funds for either aircraft.
The supplemental appropriates $313 million for General Dynamics‘ [GD] Stryker vehicles, which is $200 million more than the Obama administration’s request but not as generous as the previous House plan; the initial Senate-passed bill did not add Stryker funding. The final supplemental does not specify which varieties of Strykers the Army should buy. The administration’s original $113 million request was for six Stryker combat vehicles.
The approved legislation also includes $4.5 billion for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain vehicles (M-ATVs)–$1.9 billion more the White House requested. The Senate previously sought $4.2 billion for the M-ATVs, while the earlier bill passed by the House included $4.8 billion for the vehicles multiple companies are competing to build.
The supplemental includes $600 million for the final four Lockheed Martin-built F-22s the Obama administration wants, yet states funds in it cannot be used to shut down the fighter jet’s production line.
The final bill also allows the Air Force to retire some Lockheed Martin-built C-5A cargo aircraft.
It additionally includes language encouraging the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency to execute a booster-flight test for the cancelled Kinetic Energy Interceptor program by Northrop Grumman [NOC].