Senate blocks plans to mothball aircraft carrier, cancel cargo plane

[The Straight Story]

Senate blocks plans to mothball aircraft carrier, cancel cargo plane
By Peter Cohn, CongressDaily


The Senate Wednesday voted to keep the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in service and blocked the proposed cancellation of the C-130J cargo plane program. Both marked triumphs of local politics over the Pentagon's budget plans.
The amendments were attached to an $81 billion fiscal 2005 emergency spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan, which lawmakers aim to speed to the president's desk by early next month. Final passage is expected Thursday, after roll call votes on amendments to add $213 million for procurement of armored Humvees and to boost border protection funds by $147 million.

Passage of the emergency spending bill will coincide with high-level negotiations over the fiscal 2006 budget resolution, with House and Senate moderates continuing to balk at proposed Medicaid cuts. GOP leaders and President Bush are pushing five-year spending cuts of up to $50 billion in a range of entitlement programs, but are running into difficulties with rebellious party members.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0405/042105cdam2.htm

[BOSSHOG]

1. I have fond memories of flying in the

C-130. Quite a remarkable workhorse. Not very fast, but very reliable. One took me out of Saudi Arabia in 96 at the end of my last deployment. I love that Plane.

[malmapus]

2. wow I didn't even know the C-130 was on the cutting table

Fond memories here too of jumping out of it...AIRBORNE!! Man getting caught in the prop blast, its times I think about that I miss my time in.

That plane is a work horse though, and totally reliable.

[BOSSHOG]

3. I never jumped out of one

but when we left Saudi we were so packed with personnel and gear that the rear hatch couldn't be shut all the way. That made for an awesome view out the back of the plane.

Have you ever seen Fat Albert at an Airshow? Slap a Jet pack on the baby and it goes totally vertical. Awesome show.

[punpirate]

4. It's a particular model of the C-130...

... that's under attack, the C-130J. The specs for the plane were changed substantially, and that's caused problems with software, pilot training and compatibility with earlier models. And, the costs have been going up, up and up. The Air Force and Marines have bought fifty of them (at a price tag of $2.6 billion--or, $52 million each). The issue is about cutting off the rest of the 117-plane order.

I think Lockheed-Martin was looking for more money for the remainder of the order, on planes that had failed a goodly part of their operational testing. That's likely what prompted the Pentagon to try to kill the remainder of the order.