Supplemental likely to have $3.1 billion for planes

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, Tuesday said he expects $2.2 billion for eight C-17 cargo planes and $904 million for 11 C-130 transport aircraft to be included in the final version of fiscal 2009 war supplemental spending legislation Democratic leaders hope to finish this week or early next week.

Inouye and House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., are working to finalize a tentative agreement reached Monday night, Inouye said. "I think it's just about done," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday afternoon.

The aircraft procurement funds were included in the $96.7 billion supplemental passed by the House but not in the $91.3 billion Senate bill.

Inouye said he and Obey are working on compromise language that would put restrictions on bringing detainees to the United States from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Both the House and Senate bills included such provisions.

The tentative agreement includes $5 billion to help boost lending at the International Monetary Fund. The IMF funding is a priority for President Obama, who committed to the funds at last month's G-20 meeting.

Obama said it is part of a multinational effort to increase the financial security of the IMF in the face of the global recession. While the Senate included the funding in its package, the House did not.

House Appropriations Comittee ranking member Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., said the funding bill should not include the IMF assistance because it would take away money that would otherwise be used to support the troops.

"The reported deal struck between House and Senate Democrat leaders will bail out foreign governments at the expense of our troops and provide international giveaways while our own economy is suffering," Lewis said.

"This irresponsible action puts the president's questionable IMF policy experiment above our military, our security, and our economic stability here at home," he added.

Lewis added that "should this 'deal' stand, I will not support this legislation. My colleagues and I would like this to be a bipartisan piece of legislation that gets adequate funding to our troops quickly. There is still time to accomplish this and I look forward to working out these issues in a proper and open conference committee."

House Minority Whip Cantor also opposes including the IMF funds. "Handing over billions to the IMF not only saddles young Americans with more debt but could fund terrorist activity - a complete affront to our troops combating terrorism across the globe," he said.

Megan Scully contributed to this report.