Lawmakers Say Uncle on F-22

Lawmakers Say Uncle on F-22: The House’s version of the Fiscal 2010 defense appropriations bill, approved overwhelmingly by the chamber yesterday, contains no funding for additional F-22 Raptors beyond 187 airframes. The move is one more step in securing a victory for the White House in its efforts to quash continued production of the stealth fighter. House appropriators had followed in the footsteps of their House authorizer counterparts by adding $369 million in their markup of the bill for advanced procurement of parts and materials for 12 F-22s that would be assembled starting in Fiscal 2011. But with the Senate’s action last week to strip additional F-22 funding from its version of the defense authorization bill, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), chair of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, withdrew his support for more F-22 production and said he would work to remove the $369 million for Raptor production from the House appropriations bill and apply it instead to the existing F-22 fleet and other priorities. He succeeded. (For more, see yesterday’s Associated Press report and Reuters news wire service report.)

7/31/2009

Verbatim

Appreciative Host
"I know you're here during a difficult time. You're here through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. I promise you, we will find turkeys."
—Republic of Lithuania Chief of Defence Maj. Gen. Arvydas Pocius, expressing his thanks to airmen of the 493rd Fighter Squadron from RAF Lakenheath, Britain, who on Sept. 1, 2010, began a four-month stint with their F-15s in Lithuania to protect the airspace of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania under NATO's Baltic air policing mission.

Verbatim

Family Momentum
"In many ways, this was what the Year of the Air Force Family was all about—connecting airmen and their families with the resources they need. I have confidence the Air Force will capitalize on this strong momentum in the years ahead by continuing to improve our family support programs and ensuring people know what resources are available."
—Suzie Schwartz, wife of USAF Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, commenting on the accomplishments of the Year of the Air Force Family initiative that concluded in July, in a statement provided to the Daily Report, Aug. 22, 2010.