House Retreats on $330 Million Bid For Extra Jets

Looks like the House-Senate spat over plans to buy passenger jets for government travel is over. The House has eliminated the four additional jets it put into a recently approved defense spending bill. Once the proposed expenditure landed in the Senate, complaints were loud on both sides of the aisle, with Democrats and Republicans accusing their congressional counterparts of wasteful spending.

The original request from the Obama administration was for four jets for the Pentagon to use for trips by government officials. Two of the requested planes are already being leased by the Air Force and would be purchased; the other two planes would replace older aircraft in the Air Force fleet. Without being asked, the House proposed buying eight jets instead of four, increasing the cost from $220 million to $550 million.

"If the Department of Defense does not want these aircraft, they will be eliminated from the bill," Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), who chairs the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in the House, told the Associated Press. The Pentagon, apparently, does not want the additional aircraft, and has been complaining that it wastes money it needs for other purposes. The final tally: four jets and $330 million back in the budget.