H.R. 2219, 
the House’s version of the Fiscal 2012 defense appropriations bill, includes language that would bar the Air Force from using any funds next fiscal year to retire the six B-1B bombers that it wants to. Randy Neugebauer (R-Tex.), whose district is home to Dyess Air Force Base, one of the Air Force’s two B-1 operating installations, introduced the language as an amendment during floor debate on the bill last week. His colleagues approved the measure by voice vote on July 7, one day prior to passing the bill by a 336-87 vote (see below). “This is a very simple amendment. Basically . . . it prevents any funds in this bill from being used to retire the B-1 bombers during the coming fiscal year,” explained Neugebauer on the House floor. “[W]ith the next-generation bomber development still a decade or more away, the Administration’s proposal to retire six B-1s is short sighted and it’s premature,” added Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), one of the amendment’s co-sponsors, whose state hosts B-1s at Ellsworth Air Force Base. (See also report by Standard-Times of San Angelo, Tex.)
The Air Force kicked off one of its biggest exercises this week with the latest edition of Bamboo Eagle, featuring combined virtual and live training scenarios focused on test the command-and-control “nervous system” leaders need to operate on a complex joint battlefield spread over vast distances.
