(Obama and Secretary Gates are on the same page when it comes to reforming DOD budgeting and contract-awarding. This F-22 fight is going to be the first real knock-down battle that determines whether that reform agenda ever gathers momentum. - pro
A surface-to-air fight is coming to a head in Congress this week between the Obama administration and the military industrial complex over the fate of the F-22 Raptor. While Supreme Court confirmation hearings may dominate the headlines, the Raptor fight will be a far greater indicator of how much progress America truly made last November.
From the very beginning of President Obama's term, there has been a full-court press from corporate lobbyists and their allies in Congress (including big swinging Senators Kennedy, Kerry, Thune and Collins) to protect the F-22, despite the system's outdated, unnecessary and over-priced technological advantage over a non-existent air combat. The most redundant argument of all is that our Air Force needs more Raptors, that the current order of 183 isn't enough.
What's their motivation? While some of it could be GOP opportunism in picking a fight with the Obama administration, the bipartisan support for the F-22 is owed to an age-old rule in Defense contracting: put a factory in as many states as possible. This gives corporations sway over a larger number of Representatives and Senators, although in this case the argument that cuts to the Raptor will cost jobs should be null and void since the DoD is investing in more F-35s, also built by Lockheed Martin. According to the Boston Globe, nearly 1,000 subcontractors and supplies in 44 states contribute to the Raptor.
I'll leave the final words to Jon Soltz, chairman of VoteVets.org, who battered one F-22 supporter, Rep. Phil Gingrey of Georgia, in June.
If you haven't already, I'd strongly urge you to voice your opinion on the F-22 to your reps and senators. Again, the confirmation hearings will make for far juicier headlines this week, but this is one battle for change in Washington that should be closely followed.
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