Posted on 07/30/2009 11:14:09 AM PDT by jazusamo
Fresh off its victory removing F-22 fighter jets from a Senate defense bill, the White House is girding for another legislative battle over funding for new presidential helicopters to replace its existing, decades-old fleet.
Neither President Barack Obama nor Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to buy the VH-71 presidential chopper, which has more than doubled in cost from $6 billion to an estimated $13 billion for a contingent of 23.
“If the final bill were to include funds that continue the existing VH-71 program or would prejudge the plan to re-compete the presidential helicopter program, the president’s senior advisers would recommend that he veto the bill,” the White House said in a Statement of Administration Policy.
But looking ahead to a House debate Thursday over the defense spending bill, supporters of the VH-71 are parsing the president’s veto threat, hoping to find wiggle room to keep the program aloft with $400 million — the cost to get five partially completed birds in the air, supporters say.
“We have five that are close to 70 percent complete and four more that are less developed. You have at least nine of these that should be completed,” said Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), who paints his position in economic terms.
“More than $3.2 billion has already been spent on the VH-71. If it were eliminated, up to $4 billion would be completely wasted,” Hinchey said. In contrast, he said, starting a new program could cost $14 billion to $22 billion. “The whole thing is just so illogical.”
Supporters of the new presidential helicopter, known as Marine One, are pointing to the White House veto threat and focusing on its reference to “continuing the existing VH-71 program.” That’s not what the VH-71 advocates are asking for. All they want is to make the first, less-advanced version of the helicopter — at least for now.
The president still needs to replace the old Marine One helicopters, Hinchey said, arguing that the early version of the VH-71 provides an upgrade in terms of technology at a price that doesn’t break the bank.
But Hinchey and defense company officials pushing for the VH-71 also want to use this $400 million to breathe new life into a program that the Pentagon has already killed, including the second phase, which envisions a VH-71 upgrade. That’s where most of the ballooning cost has occurred.
Defense industry analysts and top members of Congress blame what they say was the Bush administration’s overly ambitious wish list, which added so many high-tech gizmos for Phase Two that the aircraft became too heavy to get off the ground. But Hinchey continues to defend the cost of that part of the program, saying the souped-up VH-71 would provide for the “safety and security of future administrations” — at a $13 billion price tag that would cost less than starting a new program.
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has been an advocate for working with what the Pentagon already has developed. He’s trying to work with the administration to keep the first phase alive.
“I’m saying to them, let’s figure out some way,” Murtha said, noting that starting a new helicopter program would mean Obama might not see a new Marine One as president.
The House appears likely to approve funding for the VH-71, because no amendments to withdraw the funding have been submitted. The real fight will take place, as it did over the F-22, in the Senate.
But persuading the administration to change course seems unlikely, given that top administration officials have started using the VH-71 as a punch line.
Gates took a shot at the helicopter in a recent speech to the Economic Club of Chicago — the same speech that F-22 supporters said helped kill its funding in the Senate defense bill.
“Once the analysis and requirements were done, we ended up with helicopters that cost nearly a half a billion dollars apiece and enabled the president, among other things, to cook dinner while in flight under nuclear attack,” Gates said.
Supporters of the VH-71 bristle at those gibes.
“Ridiculous,” Hinchey said. A microwave may have been discussed for the helicopter, he said, because otherwise it would have nothing more than a coffee pot and a container for boxed lunches.
The administration has already moved to end the VH-71 program: The Navy has stopped work on it, leading to hundreds of layoffs at Lockheed Martin’s Owego, N.Y., facility, where the helicopters are made.
In the meantime, Sikorsky, the company Lockheed beat to make the helicopter, has been asked to support a “service life extension plan” that would allow a version of the existing Marine One helicopter — the VH-3D — to fly past its current published limit of 14,000 hours, said Joe Haddock, vice president of government business development for Sikorsky.
And if there were any ambiguity in the administration’s veto pledge, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell tried to dispel it.
“The secretary believes President Obama needs a new helicopter but not the VH-71,” Morrell said. “It is time to kill that program, live with the sunk costs and start over, rather than waste any more of the taxpayers’ money.”
I’m sorry, its bizarre to think that dumping trillions down a rathole is a stimulus but a couple of billion for something real is extravagant.
Give the guy a bullet proof Prius and tell him to STFU!
I say, save the new ones for the next President. Let Obama fly around in the old ones.
Canada, eh?
I agree...Several billion have already been spent on this and to scrap the program is a huge waste. They should go ahead with the smaller numbers that are partly completed now, to start a new program later will cost much more.
Obama wouldn’t see this completed for him anyway if he’s a one term president!
Just give him a Prius. :)
I think Obama plans to follow Hugo Chavez's playbook and become dictator for life.
I have no doubt you’re right those are his plans but he’ll have a much harder time doing that than Hugo. :)
Can’t be cutt’n into our Trillion Dollar healthcare money with that kinda military junk! After all, we don’t need no new planes to protect us all we got to do is go talk to the folk.
If it wasn't for the good Marines who have to crew them, I would agree with you.
That “sound system” cut about made me bust a corpuscle I was laughing so hard!
“I say, save the new ones for the next President. Let Obama fly around in the old ones”.
...absolutely! Palin deserves nothing but the best! :)
That's code for the Secret Service and the Pentagon but never let a chance to bash the last administration fall by the wayside.
Why does he need 23 helicopters that cost $565 MILLION each?
Is there a separate one for each TOTUS?
Prius with a little beany cap with a little red propeller. Fitting for him. The worlds first Urklecopter.
I thought of that after I hit post. Obama’s not worth the spit they use to shine their boots.
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