House panel funds more C-17s, but not airmen

[unhappycamper]

House panel funds more C-17s, but not airmen
By Gayle S. Putrich - Staff writer
Posted : Friday May 9, 2008 16:56:17 EDT

House panels considering the fiscal 2009 budget on Wednesday authorized funds to buy more C-17s and signaled they might support purchasing more F-22 Raptors, but declined to add funding for almost 15,000 more airmen the Air Force says it wants.

The House Armed Services Committee’s air and land forces subcommittee added to the Pentagon’s fiscal 2009 budget $3.9 billion to buy 15 C-17 transport planes, $523 million to buy advance parts for F-22 fighter jets the panel hopes Congress and the next administration will approve next year, and $526 million to develop a second engine option for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

But the personnel subcommittee did not approve $385 million in unbudgeted money the Air Force asked for to keep the service at about 330,000 airmen rather than shrink to around 316,000.

The Senate Armed Services Committee also declined to add personnel funding last week, making it unlikely the money will be included in the final budget that emerges in the fall.

House panels dug deep into the president’s budget, trimming from the Army’s Future Combat Systems and Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter programs, missile defense, the DDG1000 destroyer program and the new Marine Corps vehicle. The panel with jurisdiction over personnel matters also voided what would have been a projected $1.2 billion in health care savings for the Pentagon.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/05/airforce_house_budget_050908w/



uhc comment: At $260,000,000 a pop the C-17 is getting to be expensive. And a half billion to build a second engine for the F-35? What's wrong with the first one?