Capitol Hill Reports - House Appoints Conferees to Defense Authorization Bill

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House Appoints Conferees to Defense Authorization Bill
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
7:45 AM

The House yesterday appointed conferees to the fiscal year (FY) 2010 Defense authorization legislation (H.R. 2647), usually an indication that a final bill has been drafted. A looming veto threat hangs over the House-passed version due to language that green-lights $369 million in advance funding to procure additional F-22 fighter jets. The Obama administration has also threatened to veto a final bill if it recommends continued development of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's (JSF's) alternate engine program.

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In a bow to the White House, both the House and Senate have since gone on to drop their push to buy more F-22s beyond the current ceiling of 187 aircraft. The Senate struck F-22 procurement recommendations from its version of the Defense authorization bill, and both chambers have excluded appropriations to buy the additional fighter jets in their respective FY 2010 Defense appropriations bills. House and Senate authorizers are expected to follow the lead of appropriators and drop recommended funding to procure additional F-22s.

What's not clear is whether conferees to the Defense authorization legislation will include language recommending funding for the Joint Strike Fighter's alternate engine program, which has also been met with strong objections from the White House.

"The current engine is performing well with more than 11,000 test hours," states the administration's response to the House-passed DoD authorization legislation. "Expenditures on a second engine are unnecessary and impede the progress of the overall JSF program."

The Senate-passed Defense authorization bill (S. 1390) recommends a total of $680.2 billion in discretionary funding for the Pentagon during the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, 2009, roughly matching the topline level of H.R. 2647 as passed by the House. The Senate Armed Services Committee authorized $533.8 billion for the Defense Department's "base" budget that covers regular, day-to-day operations, and mirrors the House-passed version with an additional $130.0 billion for overseas military operations. A summary of the Senate-passed Defense authorization bill can be found here, and highlights of the House legislation here.

The final FY 2010 Defense authorization bill will contain only recommended funding levels. Defense appropriators will draft the actual spending figures (a.k.a. "budget authority") for Pentagon programs. The Senate yesterday overwhelmingly approved its version of the Defense appropriations bill, clearing the legislation for a conference with the House.