PENTAGON RESUSCITATES HOPES OF BOEING C-17 SALES.Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Officially, the Pentagon has decided to end production of Boeing's C-17 transport aircraft. Unofficially, it wants $1.6 billion to buy seven more of the planes. An Air Force wish list released to members of Congress this week ranks the purchase of seven new C-17 cargo planes cargo plane n → avión m de carga cargo plane n → avion-cargo m cargo plane cargo n → as No. 1 among 16 items the Air Force most wants but has no money to buy. ``It's very, very significant,'' Long Beach Councilman Frank Colonna - in Washington, D.C., lobbying to keep the C-17 line alive - said of the memo titled ``FY 2007 Unfunded Priority List Executive Summary.'' ``It's a major move on the part of the Air Force to make such a significant request,'' he said. The Pentagon's proposed budget eliminates the C-17 Globemaster III once the current contract for 180 planes runs out in 2008. It provides about $300 million to mothball moth·ball n. 1. A marble-sized ball, originally of camphor but now of naphthalene, stored with clothes to repel moths. 2. mothballs a. and store the tools and machinery used at the Long Beach factory that assembles it. Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, lawmakers have vowed to get Congress to replace funding for the C-17s, and Colonna said Tuesday that the fact that the Air Force semiofficially identified the purchase of more planes as a top priority bodes well for their efforts. The document, released to Sen. Barbara Boxer Barbara Levy Boxer (born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and the current junior U.S. Senator from the State of California. A member of the Democratic Party, Boxer was first elected to the U.S. on Tuesday, lists $2.4 billion for ``National Defense Airlift Fund Capability Upgrades'' as the Air Force's top request. That includes, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the memo, funding for seven C-17s as well as four C-130Js and other equipment. Tom Modica Modica (mô`dēkä), city (1991 pop. 50,529), SE Sicily, Italy. It is the center of an agricultural region where livestock is raised. Known in ancient times as Motyca, it was a feudal county in the 12th cent. , Long Beach manager of government affairs, said city officials were told that about $1.6 billion of the request would be directed to C-17 purchases. Colonna and Long Beach lobbyist E. Del Smith described the memo as a silent message to Congress from the Pentagon: We can't ask for the money outright, but we sure would like it. ``This will satisfy Sen. John McCain For McCain's grandfather and father, see John S. McCain, Sr. and John S. McCain, Jr., respectively John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936 in Panama Canal Zone) is an American politician, war veteran, and currently the Republican Senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. ,'' Smith said, noting that the Arizona Republican is a stickler stick·ler n. 1. One who insists on something unyieldingly: a stickler for neatness. 2. Something puzzling or difficult. for only funding items that have been authorized and that the Pentagon wants. Boxer spokesman David Sandretti said the senator wants to see the Air Force purchase 42 aircraft - not just seven. But, he said, ``This is a significant development because the Air Force has stated in no uncertain terms that this is one of their top priorities. Unfortunately, the budget writers in the administration didn't get that message.'' Colonna and Smith said that while the Air Force memo bolsters the case for C-17s, it doesn't solve the problem of finding the money. Lisa Friedman, (202) 662-8731 lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com |
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