{"id":1579515,"date":"2022-07-29T16:40:39","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T20:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1579515"},"modified":"2022-07-29T16:41:49","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T20:41:49","slug":"other-priorities-senate-democrats-stuff-defense-bill-with-costly-aircraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/other-priorities-senate-democrats-stuff-defense-bill-with-costly-aircraft\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Other Priorities\u2019: Senate Democrats Stuff Defense Bill With Costly Aircraft"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fother-priorities-senate-democrats-stuff-defense-bill-with-costly-aircraft%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1579515&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Democratic Senators allocated funding for six more of the U.S.\u2019 most expensive weapon systems than the Pentagon said it requires in the latest 2023 defense bill approved Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Defense (DOD) initially <a href=\"https:\/\/comptroller.defense.gov\/Portals\/45\/Documents\/defbudget\/FY2023\/FY2023_Budget_Request.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">requested<\/a> 61 F-35 fighter aircraft in its 2023 defense budget for all services, down from the 85 enacted in the 2022 bill, but the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, chaired by Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.appropriations.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/DEFFY23RPT.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bumped<\/a> that number up to 67. The allocations come amid <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/07\/21\/pentagon-30-billion-f-35-jets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">criticisms<\/a> that the Pentagon has failed to appropriately maintain its existing fleet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis bill modernizes our armed forces to address the evolving threats of the 21st century, ensuring the Defense Department is able to <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/07\/14\/us-high-tech-weapon-russia-china\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">compete<\/a> with China and other adversaries across the globe,\u201d Senate Appropriations Chairman Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont <a href=\"https:\/\/www.appropriations.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/Defense%20FY%2023%20Summary.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>The Air Force will receive 33 fighter jets, consistent with the request, and the Navy and Marines combined will receive 34, six more in total than asked for, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.usni.org\/2022\/07\/28\/senate-fy-2023-appropriations-bill-adds-4b-to-navy-shipbuilding-money-for-new-amphibs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a> to the Office of Naval Intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>The F-35 is the U.S. most expensive weapons system, <a href=\"https:\/\/armscontrolcenter.org\/f-35-joint-strike-fighter-costs-challenges\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a> to the Arms Control Center. Meanwhile, upkeep and modernization costs rose an estimated $741 million in 2021, <a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2022\/04\/f-35-modernization-programs-costs-schedule-keeps-growing-gao\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a> to Breaking Defense. <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/07\/26\/pentagon-232-million-afghan-forces\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>(\u2018Ghost Soldiers\u2019: The Pentagon Lost $232 Million Trying To Pay Afghan Forces)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cReduced F-35C procurements in the FY23 budget allowed investments in other Navy priorities\u201d Lt. Kassie Collins told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Defense Contractor Lockheed Martin forged a $30 billion agreement with the Pentagon on July 18 to deliver 375 F-35s to the Pentagon and foreign buyers. However, the Pentagon has not devoted enough resources to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-22-104678.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">maintaining<\/a> the fleet, and as many as 6% of its F-35 planes are grounded at any given time, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said.<\/p>\n<p>Supply chain upheavals have also interfered with the ability of Pratt &#038; Whitney, the company that produces F-35 engines, to produce replacement engines, according to the GAO report.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt any quantity that congress authorizes, the F-35 Joint Program Office is dedicated to delivering the most capable, available and affordable aircraft to U.S. and international warfighters,\u201d the Pentagon\u2019s F-35 Program Office told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7480914\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7480914\" class=\"wp-image-7480914 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1241480372-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1241480372-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1241480372-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1241480372-620x413-1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1241480372-768x512-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1241480372-1536x1024-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1241480372-2048x1365-1.jpg 2048w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7480914\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet performs during a graduation ceremony of Israeli Air Force pilots at the Hatzerim base in the Negev desert, near the southern city of Beer Sheva, on June 23, 2022. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Senate committee bill also requires the DOD to submit a detailed report of all 2021 and 2022 unused funds for the F-35 program, noting that prices for the F-35 system appear \u201csignificantly higher\u201d than in previous years. The $11.9 billion in 2021 requested by the Pentagon for F-35 procurement nearly matches the $11 million it requested this year, despite asking for 24 fewer aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>The Appropriations Committee\u2019s total spending related to defense <a href=\"https:\/\/www.appropriations.senate.gov\/news\/majority\/breaking-chairman-leahy-releases-fiscal-year-2023-senate-appropriations-bills\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">includes<\/a> $850 billion in discretionary spending for the Pentagon, nearly 9% higher than the budget for 2022.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCurrent and forecasted high costs of sustainment remain a real and existential threat to the program,\u201d the House Armed Services Committee stated in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/congressional-report\/117th-congress\/house-report\/397\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> in its July 1 appropriations bill. \u201cThe committee remains continually frustrated by the program\u2019s overly aggressive development and production schedules that have yet to contain any realism regarding projected cost or timing of actual completion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democratic Senators allocated funding for six more of the U.S.\u2019 most expensive weapon systems than the Pentagon said it requires in the latest 2023 defense bill approved Thursday.The Department of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":899,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1579515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/899"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1579515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1579515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1579515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1579515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}