From: Dutch Rauch <drauch@dsrnet.com>
To: <dutrauch@erols.com>
Subject: RE: Stronger words re F-22 Funding cuts
Date: Friday, July 16, 1999 5:40 AM

Thanks to Bill J,

Subject:	Stronger words re F-22 Funding cuts

Two articles in this message

House Almost Certain to Cut Funds for Air Force F-22 Program

AP
13-JUL-99
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Over Pentagon objections, the House is nearing a vote to
eliminate funds for building the advanced but costly F-22 stealth fighter,
proposing to use the money instead to expand the fleet of older F-15s and
F-16s.

The Appropriations defense subcommittee, in closed session Monday, voted to
divert $1.8 billion from the program intended to buy six of the high-tech
aircraft.
Noting that development of the F-22 was based on "assessments made during
the
Cold War," Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., the subcommittee chairman, told
reporters. "It seems timely for the Air Force to pause in its pursuit of the
F-22 and reassess if world events have warranted a change in course."
Lewis said the F-22 "made sense when we faced enemies who had the expertise
to
develop advanced aircraft and the ability to produce large numbers of them."
The full Appropriations Committee was expected to take up the issue this
week or
next as part of a $263 billion Pentagon spending bill for the fiscal year
that
begins Oct. 1. Lawmakers involved in defense spending said the full
committee
would likely go along with the subcommittee's recommendations.
When it gets to the full House, the proposal will have important support
from
House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo. The shift in funds would mean
eight
new F-15s to be built at Boeing Co.'s plant in St. Louis, instead of the
four
included in a Senate-passed bill, and would help keep that production line
running through 2001.
"The real issue for the future for us domestically is, do we go to the F-22
or
do we do the research here and make this keep going," Gephardt said in an
interview. "It's a very cost-effective alternative. The F-22 is estimated to
cost as much as $300 million per plane."
However the F-22 matter plays out, the measure would have to be reconciled
with
a Senate-passed bill that includes the full $1.8 billion for the six F-22s.
The administration requested an overall $3 billion for the F-22 program,
including $1.2 billion for research and development. The House panel left
the
$1.2 billion in place.
Lewis said the panel's action would freeze the program in place, but he did
not
rule out its resumption in the future.
The Pentagon contends the F-22 fighter, which uses stealth or radar-evading
technology, is needed to replace aging F-15s and F-16s in the coming
century.
The plane is intended primarily to combat enemy fighter aircraft.
House defense appropriators questioned the overall $62.1 billion price tag
on
the program to produce the entire line of 339 F-22s. The Air Force now has
two
of the planes. The program has been plagued with delays and cost overruns.
Lt. Col. Jay DeFrank, an Air Force spokesman, said, "We are currently
evaluating
the impacts of this action on our tactical aircraft modernization program."
He
said production money for the F-22 is needed to meet "the Air Force
requirement
to maintain air superiority into the 21st century."
"We will work with the House Appropriations Committee to address the
concerns
that led to their action," he said.
The Pentagon later issued a statement saying it was "surprised and
disappointed"
by the subcommittee action. "The department remains convinced that the F-22
is
the revolutionary advance in fighter design that is needed to maintain air
superiority in the next century," the statement said. "The department does
not
believe that the facts justify this decision."
The overall bill includes money to pay for a 4.8 percent military pay
increase,
up from the 4.4 percent requested by the administration, and increases
spending
on equipment and weapons modernization by $9 billion over this year's level.


> Subject:	FW: Stronger words re F-22 Funding cuts
>
> House Panel Votes to Cut Funds for Air Force F-22 Program
>
> AP
> 12-JUL-99
> WASHINGTON (AP) -- A House subcommittee moved on Monday to freeze the Air
> Force's program for developing the sophisticated F-22 stealth fighter jet,
> agreeing to spend the money instead on upgrading today's fleet of F-15s
and
> F-16s.
> The Appropriations defense subcommittee recommended taking the full $1.8
> billion that was to be spent to buy F-22s in fiscal 2000 and using it
> elsewhere.
> "It seems timely for the Air Force to pause in its pursuit of the F-22 and
> reassess if world events have warranted a change of course," said Rep.
Jerry
> Lewis, R-Calif., the subcommittee chairman.
> Lewis said the panel's action would freeze the program in place. He did
not
> rule out its resumption in the future.
> The F-22 fighter, which uses stealth or radar-evading technology, is
needed to
> replace aging F-15s and F-16s in the coming century, the Pentagon says.
The
> plane is intended primarily to combat enemy fighter aircraft.
> But House defense appropriators questioned the overall $62.1 billion
pricetag
> on the program to produce the entire line of 339 F-22s.
> Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, the senior Democrat on the panel, said
the
> money used to enhance the F-15 and F-16 programs would "provide more
> firepower" overall than sinking the money into the F-22.
> "It is a package which is dramatic, but which will change the direction of
the
> Air Force," Murtha said. "We think we can sell it to the Senate."
> The provision is part of a $263 billion defense spending bill for fiscal
2000.
> It will be taken up by the full House Appropriations Committee later in
the
> week. If the cut in the F-22 program is approved by the full panel and
then by
> the House, it must be reconciled with Senate-passed legislation which
contains
> the $1.8 billion.
> The money was intended to buy six of the F-22 aircraft. Instead, it would
be
> used to build eight more F-15s, eight more F-16s and eight tanker planes,
> under the subcommittee action.
> The panel agreed to leave in place another $1.2 billion earmarked for
research
> and development on the F-22.
> The overall bill includes money to pay for a 4.8 percent military pay
> increase, up from the 4.4 percent requested by the administration, and
would
> increase spending on equipment and weapons modernization by $9 billion
over
> this year's level.
> House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., said the panel's measure would
> provide $440 million for eight F-15 fighter planes in an effort to keep
the
> line running through 2001. The Senate earlier earmarked an additional $220
> million for four F-15s.
> "The real issue for the future for us domestically is, do we go to the
F-22,
> or do we do the research here and make this keep going? It's a very
> cost-effective alternative. The F-22 is estimated to cost as much as $300
> million per plane," Gephardt said in an interview.
> In addition to the F-22, the Pentagon is developing another fighter plane
for
> the future, the so-called Joint Strike Fighter.
> The United States can't afford to be spending money on rival plans for the
> next generation of fighter jets, lawmakers said.
> "We already have the most advanced fighter plane in the sky in the F-15,"
> Lewis said at a news conference. "The inventory of these planes, if
maintained
> and upgraded, could continue our air superiority until 2015."
> He said the F-22 program "made sense when we faced enemies who had the
> expertise to develop advanced aircraft and the ability to produce large
> numbers of them."
> "We have taken the $1.8 billion that would be spent on those planes and
put it
> into desperately needed programs to upgrade our pilots, improve our
weapons
> and surveillance programs, and upgrade our already superior fleet of
> aircraft," Lewis said.
> "We are currently evaluating the impacts of this action on our tactical
> aircraft modernization program," Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Jay DeFrank
said
> in response to the move.
> "We are still encouraged that three of the four congressional committees
have
> supported the full president's budget request for $3 billion for research,
> development and production funding for the F22 (in fiscal 2000) and
recognize
> the Air Force requirement to maintain air superiority into the 21st
century.
> We will work with the House Appropriations Committee to address the
concerns
> that led to their action."
> The Air Force now has two of the planes.
>