Chopper, engine could sink Pentagon bill

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he will urge President Barack Obama to veto the 2010 Pentagon spending bill if it funds a new presidential helicopter.

Gates also said funding for a second engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet would be veto bait, The Hill reported Thursday.

Gates issued his warning Wednesday in a letter sent to Reps. John Murtha, D-Pa., chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, and Bill Young, R-Fla., the panel's ranking Republican.

"The conference bill should not provide funding for weapons that are not working or are no longer needed," Gates told lawmakers.

The House included $485 million for the VH-71 presidential helicopter and $560 million for the Joint Strike Fighter alternate engine.

Senate appropriators did not include funds for the two projects, but Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, indicated funding for the engine could be added during negotiations to reconcile the Senate and House bills. Inouye said if the president didn't want a new helicopter, he wouldn't "force it down his throat."