Defense secretary weighs whether to urge veto of authorization bill

Defense Secretary Robert Gates' staff is evaluating the final version of the fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill to see if the continued funding of an alternative engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will require President Obama to veto the bill, the Pentagon's spokesman said on Wednesday.

The staff still is "going through this lengthy document to determine if it in any way violates the bench mark the secretary set," spokesman Geoff Morrell said during his regular Pentagon briefing.

The Obama administration wants to cancel the second engine program, which it considers an unnecessary expense. Morrell reiterated Gates' vow to recommend a veto of any defense legislation if it would "seriously disrupt" the F-35 program, which is intended to meet urgent aircraft requirements of the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

The conference version of the defense bill would authorize $560 million to continue work on an engine, being developed by General Electric and Rolls-Royce, as an alternative to the engine by Pratt & Whitney that powers the F-35s being tested. The House approved the conference bill last week and the Senate is expected to vote soon.

Even if the bill would not adversely affect progress on the F-35 for one year, Morrell said, that "doesn't affect how we would look at the long-term effect."

"There is no diminishing of our commitment to assuring there is no impact on the program" by continuing funding for a second engine, he said.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., last week said he hoped the conference decision to authorize funding for all 30 F-35s the administration sought for fiscal 2010 would shield the bill from a veto. The House bill had only provided funds for 28 F-35s, in part to pay for the alternate engine.

"It's hard to imagine them vetoing an authorization bill when we don't impact the program negatively," Levin said.

A veto of the authorization could influence the ongoing negotiations on the fiscal 2010 Defense Appropriations bills, in which the House provided funds for the alternative engine but the Senate bill did not.

"The action taken thus far by Congress is troubling," Morrell said.