CommunityEditor
05-05-2009, 07:59 PM
House appropriators have added almost $10 billion to the $83.4 billion the Pentagon wants to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the second half of 2009. Of that, $2.2 billion would be spent on C-17 cargo aircraft that Defense Secretary Robert Gates does not want.
In a summary of the House bill released May 4, Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., said the war-funding total comes to $92.4 billion. Gates asked for $83.4 billion in April — $76 billion for the Defense Department and $7.4 billion for the State Department.
Obey, who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said $2.2 billion added to Gates’ request would be used to buy eight C-17s.
As recently as April 30, Gates said during a Senate hearing that although the C-17 “is a great aircraft,” the Air Force and the U.S. Transportation Command contend they have more than enough airlift capacity for the next decade.
By continuing to buy C-17s, Congress continues to add to excess capacity, Gates said. And he warned that if the Air Force buys more Boeing-built C-17s, it will have to give up something else.
In April, Gates said he wants to end the C-17 program at 205 planes in 2010.
Obey said that buying more C-17s will permit the Air Force to retire some of its oldest C-5 cargo planes – something the service has wanted to do for years, but which has been blocked by Congress.
The Appropriations Committee has scheduled a “markup” of the war funding bill for May 7. That will give committee members an opportunity to add to or subtract from the bill.
House appropriators added another $904 million to Gates’ request so the Air Force can buy more C-130s cargo planes. Obey said this addition essentially gives an early start to a purchase the Pentagon wants to start making in 2010.
The bill contains money for four more F-22 stealth fighters, which Gates requested. Those, he said, should be the final four F-22s.
Other items in the House bill include:
• $4.8 billion for lightweight Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles for use in Afghanistan.
• $1.3 billion for developing defenses against roadside bombs.
• $44 billion to pay for wartime operations and maintenance and personnel costs.
The House committee agreed with Gates on a $400 million counterinsurgency fund for Pakistan and added $500 million in economic assistance to Pakistan.
However, Obey said he is “extremely dubious” that the United States can accomplish what it wants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“The problem is not the administration’s policy or its goals,” Obey said. “The problem is that I doubt that we have the tools there that we need to implement virtually any policy in that region.”
Obey said he is willing to give President Barack Obama a year to begin showing positive results in Afghanistan. But the House war-funding bill requires the president by next February to submit to Congress “an honest, tough-minded evaluation of the chances of success” in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
At that point, Congress will be able to judge whether the administration’s war strategy should continue, Obey said.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/05/dn_051109_house_supp_web/
In a summary of the House bill released May 4, Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., said the war-funding total comes to $92.4 billion. Gates asked for $83.4 billion in April — $76 billion for the Defense Department and $7.4 billion for the State Department.
Obey, who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said $2.2 billion added to Gates’ request would be used to buy eight C-17s.
As recently as April 30, Gates said during a Senate hearing that although the C-17 “is a great aircraft,” the Air Force and the U.S. Transportation Command contend they have more than enough airlift capacity for the next decade.
By continuing to buy C-17s, Congress continues to add to excess capacity, Gates said. And he warned that if the Air Force buys more Boeing-built C-17s, it will have to give up something else.
In April, Gates said he wants to end the C-17 program at 205 planes in 2010.
Obey said that buying more C-17s will permit the Air Force to retire some of its oldest C-5 cargo planes – something the service has wanted to do for years, but which has been blocked by Congress.
The Appropriations Committee has scheduled a “markup” of the war funding bill for May 7. That will give committee members an opportunity to add to or subtract from the bill.
House appropriators added another $904 million to Gates’ request so the Air Force can buy more C-130s cargo planes. Obey said this addition essentially gives an early start to a purchase the Pentagon wants to start making in 2010.
The bill contains money for four more F-22 stealth fighters, which Gates requested. Those, he said, should be the final four F-22s.
Other items in the House bill include:
• $4.8 billion for lightweight Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles for use in Afghanistan.
• $1.3 billion for developing defenses against roadside bombs.
• $44 billion to pay for wartime operations and maintenance and personnel costs.
The House committee agreed with Gates on a $400 million counterinsurgency fund for Pakistan and added $500 million in economic assistance to Pakistan.
However, Obey said he is “extremely dubious” that the United States can accomplish what it wants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“The problem is not the administration’s policy or its goals,” Obey said. “The problem is that I doubt that we have the tools there that we need to implement virtually any policy in that region.”
Obey said he is willing to give President Barack Obama a year to begin showing positive results in Afghanistan. But the House war-funding bill requires the president by next February to submit to Congress “an honest, tough-minded evaluation of the chances of success” in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
At that point, Congress will be able to judge whether the administration’s war strategy should continue, Obey said.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/05/dn_051109_house_supp_web/