Senate Democrat Vows to Fight Funding for Extra Air Force Jets

A Senate Democrat and President Obama ally on Thursday vowed to block a move by the House to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on passenger jets that the Air Force did not request.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., voiced her opposition to the extra funding in a written statement and on Twitter, firing what could be the opening salvo in a battle over the money once the Senate returns from recess in September.

"This just makes no sense. Talk about the wrong message at the wrong time," McCaskill said in the statement. "While American families are tightening their belts there is no way we should be buying extra executive jets. No wonder so many people think we don't get it."

In a colorful Tweet, she added: "NO WAY! I'm embarrassed that anyone thought this was a good idea."

Nobody else in the Senate, which has not yet taken up the funding bill, appears to have piped up on the issue.

John Bray, a spokesman with the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the panel won't take up the bill until September and it's "just too early" to say where members are leaning on the jets issue.

But the topic of over-spending in the military budget is a sensitive one. Cutting funds doesn't just raise concerns about national security -- it affects jobs.

At the same time, the country is facing a gaping deficit and the Pentagon is expected to scale down just like every other agency. A few senators, as well as Obama, railed against attempts last month to add extra funding for F-22 jets to the budget. The Senate, and then the House, ultimately stripped the money.

But the latest example of potential over-spending comes with the House approving more than $500 million for eight passenger jets, when the Air Force only asked for four.

In the 2010 defense spending bill, the Air Force originally requested money for one C-37 and three C-40s as part of its effort to replace its aging fleet. But the House Appropriations Committee added an extra $132 million for two more C-37s and $200 million for two more C-40s, according to an aide to the panel.

The aide, who asked not to be identified, said the decision was made in order to speed up the replacement process which was already underway, and that the move could save money in the long run.

"You've got an aging fleet," the aide said. "It costs more to fly aging planes that are unreliable. It's the same reason you update anything."

Though two of the C-37s reportedly are to be assigned to units at Andrews Air Force Base that routinely transport government officials and members of Congress, the aide disputed the notion that Congress was just awarding itself an upgrade, saying both types of jets can be used for "many purposes" including transport of military personnel -- not just elected officials.

"It's not like Congress is buying Congress planes here," the aide said.

That's not how McCaskill saw it. Her statement said the jets would be "dedicated to travel for government executive-level personnel."

Asked about the addition, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Wednesday that the military generally frowns upon any appropriations that are above and beyond what is asked for.

"We ask for what we need and only what we need," he said.

He said when the military is funded above the requested level for any project, it generally comes at the expense of some other item in the budget. He said Defense Secretary Robert Gates is more focused, though, on making sure other more "big-ticket" items do not get over-funded.

But Ellis Brachman, spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee, said budgeting for such items is part of Congress' "normal oversight responsibility" to make sure the military has everything it needs.

"If Congress just rubber-stamped the Defense Department's budget request every year, we would not have Predator aircraft today and our troops would not have the body armor they need," he said.

The Air Force originally asked for $66 million for one C-37, and $154 million to cover the cost of buying one C-40 and purchasing two other leased C-40s.