Granger at the Trough
Pentagon may cut back F/A-22 production
The Pentagon has told the White House and Congress that it plans to sharply cut the Air Force's program for the F/A-22, part of which is built in Fort Worth at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.Budget analysts said the cuts are intended to offset mounting federal budget deficits and the growing costs of the war in Iraq. The plane is the most expensive fighter jet in history.
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Cutting Raptor production would be ill-advised, considering the amount of money and labor already spent, said Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, whose district includes the Lockheed plant.
"About 2,000 jobs are involved here in this project," Granger said. "Such a cut would be detrimental."
Congress has supported the program in the past, she said, and she doubts that will change soon.
Curious when being "strong on defense" meant treating the Pentagon budget as if it were a jobs program.
SIDENOTE: Worth noting that the original NYTimes version of this story did not include the local angle with Congresswoman Kay's commentary. I'd expect better of a so-called liberal bastion.
Comments
The same thought crossed my mind during Lott's comments regarding Donald Rumsfeld. On one hand, he said, national security is too important to be left in the hands on Rumsfeld. Then, it seemed, in his next breath, he explained his opposition to a restructuring of military bases because it would mean moving military personnel out of Mississippi.
Posted by: R. Alex | December 29, 2004 08:59 AM