Congress digs in against Pentagon plan to mothball the A-10 fighter-bomber

WASHINGTON -- Defense Department officials and Congress continue to disagree on how to save money in the fiscal 2015 defense budget.

In most instances, Pentagon officials have the facts and politicians generally have concern about the effects on their constituents.

Here are two examples from recent congressional hearings:

* Retiring the 40-year-old A-10 "Warthog," the slow-flying, close-air-support jet fighter-bomber that was designed to kill Warsaw Pact tanks, may be the most controversial. The Pentagon's plan last year to replace of all its 325 A-10s with the newer, still-being-developed, costly F-35 was blocked by Congress, at least through the end of 2014. So the Pentagon is trying again.

http://www.standard.net/stories/2014/04/01/congress-digs-against-pentagon-plan-mothball-10-fighter-bomber