THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 12, 1994 TAG: 9408120584
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
The military's bomber force gets a significant lift from the $263.8 billion compromise defense bill put together by House and Senate negotiators.
Details of the plan made public Thursday show lawmakers anxious to protect the fleet from cuts and to keep alive the possibility of building more B-2 Stealth bombers. The legislation requires final votes in the House and Senate and President Clinton's signature before becoming law. Lawmakers said they hoped Congress could send the measure to the president next week. The bill rejects Clinton administration plans to cut the bomber force from 180 to 107 and also increases funding for ``smart'' bombs. ``We feel that the administration has not thought through their bomber program carefully,'' said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sam Nunn, D-Ga.
House and Senate negotiators fought bitterly over the B-2, with House members insisting that Congress should stand by its 1992 decision to build no more than the 20 B-2s already ordered, for $44.4 billion. The Senate, supported by Northrop Grumman Corp., which builds the B-2 in California, sought $150 million to keep the specialized subcontractors of the airplane going. In the end, the negotiators agreed to provide $25 million to study the nation's bomber needs and $100 million to ``preserve core capabilities.'' At the defense secretary's discretion, some of that money could go to B-2 subcontractors or toward the development of a new bomber. Both sides claimed victory.
The agreement, while representing only a tiny fraction of the overall defense budget, sets the stage for fierce debate next year, should the Clinton administration change its position and decide to ask for more B-2s. Clinton's long-term defense plan, the so-called Bottom-Up Review, says that 107 bombers would be enough to meet future military threats.
The final bill includes $136 million to keep the current fleet of B-1 and B-52 bombers intact. Some of that money would also go toward modifying air-launched cruise missiles and speeding up purchases of precision weapons.
Also included in the House-Senate agreement is a 2.6 percent military pay raise, up from the 1.6 percent raise requested by Clinton. The measure also provides $3.6 billion for the new CVN-76 aircraft carrier to be built by Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, $2.4 billion for six C-17 airlifters and $2.7 billion for three Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyers.
KEYWORDS: U.S. CONGRESS B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS
by CNB