PhillyTablet Inquirer Daily News
Mobile
Home Delivery
philly.com
email
font size
comments
1
options
 
Saturday, June 27, 2009

Axe-evading plane

Not only does the F-22 fighter jet evade radar, but it avoids federal budget cutters, too.

As we noted in an editorial in April, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and President Obama want to cut Lockheed Martin's weapons system, which was built for the Cold War and costs up to $191 million per plane. Phasing out the fighter production is part of Gates' plan to overhaul Pentagon programs. Obama has even threatened to veto a defense bill if it includes the F-22 spending.

But lawmakers have a way of preserving defense contracts in their own backyards, whether or not it's the best use of tax dollars. That's what is happening with the F-22. The jet program employs 95,000 people in 44 states, including at software maker Teletronics Technology Corp. in Newtown, Bucks County.

The House, led by a Democrat whose district involves manufacturing the jet engines,  blocked any attempt by lawmakers to cut F-22 funding from a $680 billion defense authorization bill. Twenty-seven Democrats voted against the maneuver, but none were from the Philadelphia region. Rep. Joe Sestak (D., Pa.), a retired admiral who had spoken out in favor of Gates' efforts to overhaul weapons systems, nevertheless voted for the rule that preserved F-22 funding.

 Maybe this budget fight was a foregone conclusion. It's tough to hit a stealth jet with conventional weapons, much less with a budget axe.
Posted by Dave Boyer @ 5:30 AM  Permalink | 1 comment
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:13 PM, 06/27/2009
    God forbid that in these days of Porkulus that we spend any money that actually may stimulate the economy, keep jobs and make America stronger.
    — rudytbone


1 comments
About The Inquirer Editorial Board
Welcome. You're reading the Inquirer Editorial Board's Say What? opinion blog. We hope you enjoy commentary from the Editorial and Commentary pages, in addition to up-to-the-minute opinion postings that appear here for the first time. Here are thumbnail bio sketches and contact information for the editors and writers who produce the newspaper's opinion pages, as well as an archive of recent cartoons by Tony Auth. (Our blog roll follows the ad below.) Please check out the videos from our One Great Idea project. And don't miss our daily online reader polls.
Join on Facebook    Follow on Twitter

Advertise Here