Are we going to save taxpayers money by moving to the F-35?
The Senate Tuesday voted to stop production on the F-22 fighter jets, after President Obama and his administration lobbied the Hill to do away with the jets in favor of spending on joint F-35 jets, despite complaints from lawmakers that the end of the F-22’s could cause loss of jobs for many in their home states that are in defense contracting. “I reject the notion that we have to waste billions of taxpayer dollars on outdated and unnecessary defense projects to keep this nation secure,” Obama said in a Rose Garden event at the White House. “That’s why I’ve taken steps to greatly reduce no-bid defense contracts. That’s why I’ve signed overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation to limit cost overruns on weapons systems before they spiral out of control. And that’s why I’m grateful that the Senate just voted against an additional $1.75 billion to buy F-22 fighter jets that military experts and members of both parties say we do not need. ” The Rose Garden event, billed as remarks pertaining to
“To come in here with a straight face and say we’re going to save taxpayers money by moving to the F-35 and then turn and say we’re going to pay $200 … Sources: google.
The Senate Tuesday voted to stop production on the F-22 fighter jets, after President Obama and his administration lobbied the Hill to do away with the jets in favor of spending on joint F-35 jets, despite complaints from lawmakers that the end of the F-22’s could cause loss of jobs for many in their home states that are in defense contracting. “I reject the notion that we have to waste billions of taxpayer dollars on outdated and unnecessary defense projects to keep this nation secure,” Obama said in a Rose Garden event at the White House. “That’s why I’ve taken steps to greatly reduce no-bid defense contracts. That’s why I’ve signed overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation to limit cost overruns on weapons systems before they spiral out of control. And that’s why I’m grateful that the Senate just voted against an additional $1.75 billion to buy F-22 fighter jets that military experts and members of both parties say we do not need. ” The Rose Garden event, billed as remarks pertaining to
A member of McCain’s own party, who did not vote with the Arizona senator, Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss, cried foul over the plan to kill the F-22, saying the cost for the F-22 is less than the F-35. “To come in here with a straight face and say we’re going to save taxpayers money by moving to the F-35 and then turn and say we’re going to pay $200 million a copy in this bill for F-35’s? Something about that just doesn’t add up,” said Chambliss on the Senate floor. Chambliss has a direct interest in both planes, as Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-22 and the F-35 has a F-22 plant in Marietta Georgia which employs about 2,000 people. That plant would not necessarily transition into building F-35’s, despite suggestions from Levin that might happen. The F-22 fighter jet, used mostly in ‘dogfight’ situations, can cost anywhere between $140 million to $350 million to make. While the F-35 could cost as much as $200 million per plane according to the new Defense Authorization Bill
