Senate Begins Debate on DOD Authorization Bill; Obama Threatens Veto if Extra F-22s Are Included

The Senate began debate on the FY2010 authorization bill for the Department of Defense (S. 1390) today, while President Obama threatened to veto the bill if the Senate retained the seven extra F-22s that were included by the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC). SASC Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) and Ranking Member John McCain (R-AZ) both oppose the additional F-22s along with the Administration. Levin and McCain have offered an amendment to remove that provision from the bill. According to Congress Daily (subscription required), however, the two do not think they have sufficient votes for their amendment to pass. They and the Administration want to end production after the current order of 187 planes is completed.