House To Vote On $550 Billion Defense Bill, Obama Threatens Veto
He’s more then happy to spend record billions on a pork laden “stimulus,” but can’t spend anything to keep Americans safe?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives was poised to approve on Thursday a $550.4 billion defense authorization bill for fiscal 2010 that has drawn a veto threat from President Barack Obama because it contains money for fighter jets he does not want.
The bill also authorizes $130 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the fiscal year that begins October 1.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said it supported the overall bill but the president’s senior advisers would recommend a veto unless some provisions were dropped.
One congressional aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the White House veto threat as “a bargaining tool.”
The Senate Armed Services Committee was to unveil its defense authorization bill for 2010 later on Thursday, but the legislation was unlikely to be approved by the full Senate until September. House and Senate negotiators must then hammer out a compromise version before final passage.
The OMB said it strongly objected to the House decision to include $369 million in advanced procurement funds to buy 12 more F-22 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp despite a Pentagon decision to halt production at 187.
Some lawmakers are pushing to continue production of the F-22 until a current ban on exports can be lifted to allow Japan to buy a modified version of the premiere U.S. fighter jet. The Lockheed program employs workers in over 40 states.
The administration also objected to House lawmakers adding $603 million to the bill to continue work on an alternate F-35 fighter engine being built by General Electric Co and Rolls-Royce Group Plc.
The OMB said the changes would delay the fielding of the F-35 and have an adverse effect on the Pentagon’s overall strike fighter inventory. It said the risks of a fleet-wide grounding with a single engine, an issue raised by the Marine Corps general who runs the program, were “exaggerated.”
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Yea, cut that defense spending ya dickhead. Go for it and see what happens when the idiot in North Korea starts sprinkling plutonium in your corn flakes.
He is spending money like it was water and will threaten a veto on this country’s security???
What is wrong with the people of this country? $93 million went to Mugabe the murderer in Africa plus all the porkulous and bailouts and he wants to put this country in jeopardy as North Korea plans to annhialate us.
I am speechless and infuriated. By the time the 2010 elections come, this “land of the free” will be destroyed.
I question which team Obama is playing for.
Nah health care for everyone is more important.
I’m almost certain there will be exclusions to the governments healthcare plan. Does not cover you in event of terrorist attack.
They’ll need that health care when they’re all dying from radiation. What good is domestic spending if you can’t defend yourself internationally.
That F-22 isn’t ’shovel-ready’ or what?
Our POSer-in-chief can’t seem to get enough folks laid off.
he is trying! now the defense industry needs to be wary of the usurper! making America weak for the enemy.
-aTb
Sept 12th!!!
http://www.912dc.org
Eh, 12 more F-22s really is not worth it. The Air Force has already said that it does not need anymore. I don’t know why they would want to force 12 more planes when the Air Force does not want them. Also, our current force of F-22s is up around 187. Adding 12 more planes is not necessary. I like that Gates wants to phase out funding to allow for more money to be put into Predator drones and littoral attack ships. Predators are a lot more useful to us now than F-22s.
The F-22s are going to be top dogs for a long time and no one else in the world can match them so to make more at this point just does not make a lot of sense. Divert more funds to predators, urban training, and other tactics to fight the war we are in now.
It ain’t about the planes man. It’s about the J.O.B.S. and the F22 is ’shovel-ready’. The prick has $787 BILLION of our money in his pocket and he is threatening to veto a defense spending bill over $400 MILLION that would “save” jobs in 40 states.
Either Barry is gonna be the social engineer-in-chief for the ‘common good’ and be out there ’saving or creating jobs’ like he claims or he’s gonna keep getting people laid off.
Get it?
Yes, I know it is about jobs. It is foolish to hold up this bill over a relatively small amount of money. Which also makes it foolish to only ask for an additional 12 planes. I can see the argument for not wanting the 12 planes, ordering those 12 planes means keeping those jobs and paying those people money that does not need to be spent since we really do not need another 12 planes. But the people who build those planes want their money and they have some strong senators and representatives fighting to keep them.
It’s a horrible balancing act and a confusing one too. Obama wants to save money…in a spending bill…but quibbles over a couple hundred millions when there is a couple billion going into spending. But if he spends too much then he gets called out on wasteful spending but if he takes some things outs he gets called out on not having the nations interest at heart. It’s all very ridiculous.
“But if he spends too much then he gets called out on wasteful spending but if he takes some things outs he gets called out on not having the nations interest at heart. It’s all very ridiculous.”
Hey Jeff you sound like an Obama Nazi, what the hell is wrong with you?!
It’s not a balancing act, its a matter of principle, if the douche bag in chief has the money to spend on Cap and Trade, and health care than he better not say boo about national defense!
Whats ridiculous is you no seeing Obama is ruining this nation on PURPOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Question 1: WHY would we sell the F22 to Japan??? Can you say Japanese F-2 all over again? Reverse engineering?!
Please lets keep the worlds only legit fifth generation fighter in only AMERICAN hands!!!!
Secondly, I remember when they said F22 was going to cost 100 million per plane, now we can get 12 for 369 million? Sounds like a deal to me.
Does the usurper realize that once you shut down the production lines, they may NEVER be opened again??!!!!?
This never ceases to amaze me.
Read the article, numb nuts. Japan may be getting a stripped down version. Meaning all the good avionics and electronics are going to be excluded. That’s why it’s called an export version.
Why distrust Japan? They are one of our closest allies. Their military is basically all self defense. They will become even more important if North Korea decides to act up and if China is not willing to cooperate. If there is one country that I would trust to have F-22s it would be Japan.
I don’t trust Canada to have the F-22. When you make a leap in technology like this you keep it to yourself. They already have F-15’s and F-2 which is basically an F-16, we don’t need to give them the F-22.
And Gaige, I don’t care if they change the electronics, its still the F-22 numb nuts! I saw a video where the F-22 faced off against F/A 18’s F-16’s and F-15’s and scored a kill ratio of 120something to 0!
All we need if for china to escort one of the Japanese F-22’s down over the mainland and reverse engineer it!
ArchInfidel, you do know that it is the electronics and avionics on the F-22 are what make it so special. Also, all of that tech is nothing without a skilled pilot.
Think of taking the avionics and electronics off the F-22 as removing the full auto feature on M-16s for civilian users. Or think of it in computer terms. The USA will be keeping 5.0 version while we are giving Japan a 4.5 version.
“All we need if for china to escort one of the Japanese F-22’s down over the mainland and reverse engineer it!”
Umm what? Japan would never fly close enough to China to let a plane or pilot go down there. Are you really that clueless?
Ok Jeff, since you are obviously an expert in aviation electronics, tell me should we than sell dumb down f22’s to our enemies too? After all only the electronics make the plane. Seriously get a clue!
And no the japs could never get to close to the chinese cost, just like that didn’t happen to us in the last decade, get our plane escorted down, and held just long enough for them to study and get our systems and than released.
You have no fing clue what systems we would remove from these planes. And there is a reason we CURRENTLY have a BAN on selling the most advanced plane in the history of the world!
OB(Prick Bastard) scare tactics, he wants his Cap and Trade and Health Care Reform Bills passed. I’m sure some Republicans will jump on board for fear of defense spending cuts in their state.
NMP
I wonder how many carbon credits you have to buy for a 15 min. full throttle after-burn ride in an F22?
Also, do we really have 187 F22’s? I like the sound of that number ……..
Lets find jobs building the next generation of weapons for the workers building those planes, and just keep it at 187 as a warning…..heh heh 
No Jeff.
It’s not a “horrible balancing act” because there’s no balance to Obamanomics. And it’s “confusing” to you because you don’t recognize Obamanomics for what it is… a Statist reorganization of the American capitalist economy.
What has Barry done since January that has been of benefit to the American economy?
And before you answer ‘bailing out the financial services and automotive industries’, consider what the proper use of the term ‘bail out’ should be as well as what those corporations look like now vs. pre-recession.
Oh and the Japanese are notorious for reverse engineering. Going back a long way. That’s true of most of Asia and has everything to do with their own education systems not encouraging individual critical thought.
Just like the Obama vision for education reform in America.
Thank you sully, I agree 100%, Give the japs a few more F-15’s fine, but you don’t roll out the F-22 to ANYONE! period.
The “Air Force” has not said it needs no more F-22s. The ONLY person, get that A SINGLE PERSON, who says we don’t need any more is the CIVILIAN Air Force Secretary. Politically appointed, never meets the enemy, not a pilot nor warfighter … just dedicated to his next government promotion. Sound familiar? Anyone else you know of that has never done anything except whore for the next higher gov’t position? Maybe the highest?
The arithmetic of the numbers of planes per squadron (far fewer for F-22 than other jets), the number of planes always in scheduled maintenance, the number of squadrons, the number of LARGE OCEANS, and the NUMBER OF ENEMIES FOR GOD’s SAKE … may be difficult to those who haven’t followed it closely (Jeff). Trust me, as an Air Force Vet, the number needed is above 250.
Anyone followed the news about how the F-15 Eagle is faring? Designed for 20 - 25 years of Cold War service, fielded in 1972. Hmmm, let’s see, more of that pesky arithmetic. Uh, it’s … wait, don’t tell me … uh, 2009 minus 1972. So why are F-15’s breaking up in flight? CUZ THEY’RE ALMOST 40 years old !!!
And how many of those F-15’s is the F-22 supposed to replace? Well, just the Air Superiority F-15 C’s and D’s, not the ground-attack E’s. How many of the Cs/Ds do we have and need?
More then SEVEN HUNDRED.
You’re gonna replace more than 700 combat pilots and their planes with only 187? Are you out of your fucking mind?
It’s likely that putting the 500+ pilots out of work is the primary target of Barry and the workers already wielding ’shovels’ building fighter jets are his twisted view of collateral damage.
Sorta like the unfortunates working at auto dealerships working to try and actually sell and maintain cars and trucks but got in the way of the Statist takeover and re-distribution of GM and Chrysler.