For Immediate Release

June 13, 2006

DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL FUNDS BOEING, STATE PROGRAMS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Appropriations Committee approved the defense spending bill for the next fiscal year, boosting several key Boeing aircraft programs and assuring that funds are available for Navy ship overhaul and repair work at public shipyards, including Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks said Tuesday.

                        The FY2007 defense appropriations bill funds pay and benefits for military personnel, the operations of worldwide military bases and the design and procurement of weapons and other military equipment.   In addition to funding for active duty personnel, Rep. Dicks said the bill adds $557 million to the Army Reserve and National Guard accounts in order to accommodate the current personnel levels that were not included in the President’s budget request.  In addition, the congressman said, the bill approved today adds $500 million to the Administration’s National Guard budget request for new equipment that will be primarily used for homeland defense and disaster response purposes.

                        Among the major Boeing programs funded in the bill is the appropriation of $1.13 billion for the further development of the P-8A “Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft,” a surveillance plane utilizing the Boeing 737 airframe that will replace the P-3 Orion submarine hunter aircraft.   Ultimately the Navy will purchase 108 of the P-8As, representing a boost for the 737 production line in Renton, Rep. Dicks noted.

            The congressman, a senior member of the subcommittee on defense appropriations, said the panel also accepted his suggested language that directs the Navy to accomplish all of its planned overhaul and repair work in the upcoming fiscal year, including the repairs to the USS San Francisco at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.  The submarine was damaged in January 2005 when it hit an uncharted underwater mountain.  Without specific direction in the appropriations process, it was estimated that the Navy would have been $54 million short of funds needed to accommodate this repair work and the overhaul of the carrier USS George Washington at Norfolk.

                        Rep. Dicks, a leading congressional advocate for replacement of the Air Force’s aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers, said the bill adds another increment --$204 million – to the tanker replacement program account, providing funding to support the program in the coming year when the selection of the new tanker model is expected to take place.  The Boeing 767 model tanker, currently in development for the Japanese and Italian air forces, would be an ideal successor to the existing fleet of KC-135 tankers, which now average 45 years old, Rep. Dicks said.

                        Among the other Boeing programs funded in the defense bill for the next fiscal year are:

            C-17 Cargo/Transport Aircraft
            This bill appropriates $2.9 billion for the purchase of 15 additional C-17 airlifters – three more than were requested in the Administration’s budget.

            F/A-22 Aircraft
            The panel recommended a total of $2.9 billion to fully fund the procurement of 20 F/A-22 fighter aircraft, with an additional $477 million for advance procurement in future years.  The plane is the nation’s next-generation air superiority fighter characterized by a low-observable, highly maneuverable airframe.

            F/A-18/E/F Aircraft
            Another $2.9 billion was included for 42 next-generation F/A-18 E/Fs, the Navy's upgrade of the current F/A-18 C/D aircraft.

            V-22 Osprey
            $1.3 billion was included in the bill to fully fund the Marine Corps’ V-22 tiltrotor aircraft program.

            Army “Future Combat System” (Boeing Co. is lead systems integrator)
            $3 billion was included for the Army’s major research and development program entitled “Future Combat System.” The program integrates the Army's next generation of combat vehicles and weapons systems.

                        The bill also includes funding for several smaller programs that operate at Washington State military bases or are in development by northwest technology firms, Rep. Dicks said.  Among them is $162.4 million appropriated for torpedo developmental and production work, much of which is accomplished at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center at Keyport.

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