The 109th Congress in a last gasp effort passed a joint resolution designed to fund 2007 military construction efforts at last year’s level, but Pentagon officials already are citing shortfalls, particularly to handle required BRAC actions. The Air Force has complained that it may not be able to fund the F-22 bed down in the Pacific region, reports McClatchy Newspapers. The new Democratic-led appropriations committees want to remove earmarks from the separately passed MilCon bills, according to the Congressional newspaper The Hill.
A new Air Force plan for how many fighters it needs in the next decade marks a sharp upturn from what it thought it needed just seven years ago. But analysts worry that the aspirational plan now in Congress' hands doesn’t make a tight enough connection to national strategy.
