Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga. indicated that Congress was prepared to defy the threat of veto by President Obama regarding a defense spending bill that included funding for a second engine for the troubled F-35 program.
“Absolutely, and he won’t (veto the bill),” Marshall responded.
Marshall sits on the House Armed Services Committee’s authorizations subcommittee, which approved a defense spending bill this month that included money for the second engine. The second engine is manufactured by General Electric.
Proponents of the second engine claim the program will save money by hedging against cost overruns. Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates have strenuously objected to the program.
“The Defense Department is already pleased with the engine it has,” Obama said last year in a speech on budget matters. “The engine it has works. The Pentagon does not want and does not plan to use the alternative version.”
“I think (Obama) was getting bad information,” Marshall said.
Civilian employees soon to see the end of NSPS
Most Air Force civilian employees will soon move out of the National Security Personnel System and return to the General Schedule, the Air Force announced this week.
A defense spending bill last year mandated all government employees move out of the NSPS by Jan. 1, 2012.
The Air Force will beat that deadline with more than a year to spare.
“With few exceptions, Air Force NSPS employees will transition between July 4 and Sept. 12,” according to a Wednesday press release.
The program dramatically changed the way the Pentagon paid its civilians employees, if only for a short time. Employees who were paid under the NSPS were compensated based on performance, as opposed to the more standardized General Schedule.
Georgia senators call for 6,000 troops along U.S.-Mexican border
An amendment to the Senate’s defense spending bill that would have funded 6,000 U.S. troops to the U.S.-Mexican border was defeated Thursday.
The amendment was co-sponsored by Sens. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.
The amendment would have been attached to a bill to fund U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
On Tuesday, President Obama ordered 1,200 troops to the region, a measure Chambliss said was insufficient.
“I commend the president for his decision to deploy 1,200 troops to the border, but that’s not nearly enough,” Chambliss said. “The situation on the Southwest border demands much more.”
Disabled veterans group opens new office in Warner Robins
The Disabled American Veterans of Warner Robins has opened a new office in the Old Houston Mall at 233 North Houston Road. The office is in Suite 241, beside Battco Office Furniture.
The office is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Richard E. Fox, commander of the Warner Robins DAV chapter, said he is the only DAV certified service officer within 100 miles of Warner Robins.
To contact military writer Thomas L. Day, call 744-4489.
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