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bipartisan group of 18 Senators wants the Senate to include funding in the Fiscal 2010 defense appropriations bill to buy 12 additional C-17s beyond the current program of record, aircraft that the Pentagon has not requested. Led by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), they sent a letter on Aug. 19 to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), respectively, requesting the additional aircraft. The Senate panel is slated to mark up its version of the defense spending measure after Congress returns from its August recess. Continue
Every year, Congress and the military debate which combat assets should head to the boneyard and which have more life left in them. Lawmakers often opt to keep Air Force systems that bring jobs to their districts, which complicates matters as the service looks to modernize and ditch certain platforms.…