C-17A 99-0167 (F-70/P-67) based at Elmendorf ABF in Alaska, basks in the afternoon sun at Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage. (Photo by Michael Carter)
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday rejected an effort led by Sen. John McCain to end funding for Boeing's C-17 and close the Long Beach assembly plant by mid-2011, but the Arizona Republican is set to make a similar motion today.
Wednesday's 64-34 vote marks a major milestone in continuing production at California's last major aircraft assembly plant through at least mid-2012, securing some 5,000 jobs in Long Beach and about 25,000 more around the country where parts for the aircraft are designed and built.
While admitting defeat on his motion Wednesday, McCain promised to re-introduce a similar measure on the Senate floor today that would effectively strip the $2.5billion approved by a Senate committee in early September to fund 10 more planes.
If McCain's motion is again rejected, the massive jet's future rests with approval by the House of Representatives, which will consider the matter in coming days, and with President Obama, who has expressed reservations about continued production but has not threatened a veto.
Funding for the 10 C-17s is included in the nation's $626billion defense budget for Fiscal Year 2010, which is expected to reach Obama's desk sometime in the next few weeks.
The White House and Defense Secretary Robert Gates had objected to more C-17s, but appear unlikely to veto the entire defense budget for a program representing less than one half of one percent of total defense spending.
The White House and Defense Secretary Robert Gates had objected to more C-17s, but appear unlikely to veto the entire defense budget for a program representing less than one half of one percent of total defense spending.
Still, McCain and others had argued that the $2.5 billion C-17 earmark could be better spent elsewhere - a notion vehemently rejected by supporters like senators Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii; and Kit Bond, R-Mo.; among others.
During debate Tuesday and Wednesday, supporters argued that continued C-17 production is vital to national security
During debate Tuesday and Wednesday, supporters argued that continued C-17 production is vital to national security
WHAT'S NEXT FOR BOEING'S C-17
1. Sen. John McCain indicated he will introduce a similar measure Thursday to strip C-17 funding despite his effort Wednesday being rejected on a 64-34 vote. If that fails, the C-17's fate will next move to the House of Representatives.
2. The Senate will meet with the House in the coming week to finalize the nation's Fiscal Year 2010 defense budget, currently valued at $626 billion. The Senate version includes $2.5 billion to fund 10 more C-17 s, while the House version includes about $650 million to fund just three more airplanes.
3. After a deal is reached between both houses of Congress, the final defense budget goes to President Obama, who has not threatened a veto. Obama has instead focused in recent months on efforts to end a $50 billion F-22 fighter jet program.
Obama is expected to sign the defense bill by mid-October.and humanitarian relief efforts.
In addition to supplying the military with hardware and men in the field, the C-17 has been used extensively to deliver food, medical supplies, water and other essentials in the wake of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Obama is expected to sign the defense bill by mid-October.and humanitarian relief efforts.
In addition to supplying the military with hardware and men in the field, the C-17 has been used extensively to deliver food, medical supplies, water and other essentials in the wake of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
"According to the Air Force, over the last three years, in the military's Central Command alone, the C-17 has flown more than 100,000 airlift sorties, moved more than 2 million personnel, delivered nearly 300,000 tons of cargo, and executed nearly 2,000 airdrops," said Dodd, whose state is home to the Pratt and Whitney engine manufacturer used by the C-17. "According to the Government Accountability Office, C-17s have delivered more than 2.4 million tons of cargo to Iraq and Afghanistan. That's 2.4 million tons of supplies - everything from critical gear to large vehicles - sustaining our troops on the battlefield."
Debate surrounding the future of the C-17 program has dragged on since Defense Secretary Gates said in April that production should end by mid-2011 - after the Air Force receives its 205th C-17. Boeing began C-17 production in 1993 in part to replace an aging fleet of Lockheed C-5A aircraft, which were built between 1968 and 1973 and have been plagued in recent years by wing assembly damage that has required extensive retrofitting.
"The Air Force has informed us that today its current statistics show that it costs $6.42 to fly one pound of cargo from South Carolina to Baghdad on a C-17, but $13.76 to fly the same pound on a C-5," said Inouye, who brokered the Senate deal for 10 more C-17s in early September. "Why? Because the C-5 is unreliable, because we rarely need to fill either plane to its maximum capacity on an average mission, and because the C-17 is newer and modernized in comparison to the C-5. We simply can't rely on the older, outdated C-5."
Nevertheless, McCain and a coalition of supporters including Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., tried to rally support for an amendment ending C-17 production, but the measure was rejected late Wednesday on the Senate floor. Supporters successfully argued the plane carries an advantage over other cargo aircraft because of its ability to land on short, unpaved runways in remote regions inaccessible to the C-5A and similar aircraft.
Levin had earlier tried to rally support for McCain's amendment stripping continued C-17 production, despite public reservations on its impact on defense workers.
"Terminating production, like closing a base, can involve some economic loss for communities involved." Levin noted.
"Terminating production, like closing a base, can involve some economic loss for communities involved." Levin noted.
"But we must do so from time to time and make these difficult decisions, based on what is best for the nation, and what is best for the men and women of the armed forces."
Still, Congressional support for continued production of the massive jet was strong enough to override the amendment, leaving the aircraft's production in the hands of the House of Representatives and the White House.
Still, Congressional support for continued production of the massive jet was strong enough to override the amendment, leaving the aircraft's production in the hands of the House of Representatives and the White House.
"We feel confident, but we're not ready to celebrate until the Senate and House approve the order and the president signs it," said Jean Chamberlain, general manager of Boeing's C-17 program earlier Wednesday, before the vote on McCain's measure.
More than 200 of the massive jets have been built so far, primarily for the U.S. Air Force, although smaller orders have been delivered to the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Qatar and a NATO-led consortium based in Hungary.
The United Arab Emirates is also nearing a deal to order four C-17s, and the Indian Air Force has indicated it may purchase 10 within a few years.
In related news, the Air Force approved a $26.2million deal Wednesday with Boeing to buy spare parts for the C-17 aircraft. C-17 aircraft damaged during routine missions are often brought to a repair facility next to the assembly plant in Long Beach, but the spare parts order will also allow the Air Force to fix minor damage and replace worn-out parts on bases across the country where the majority of C-17 aircraft are stationed.
(Kristopher Hanson - Long Beach Press Telegram)
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