Senate blocks plans to mothball aircraft carrier, cancel cargo plane
By Peter Cohn, CongressDaily
The Senate Wednesday voted to keep the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in service and blocked the proposed cancellation of the C-130J cargo plane program. Both marked triumphs of local politics over the Pentagon's budget plans.
The amendments were attached to an $81 billion fiscal 2005 emergency spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan, which lawmakers aim to speed to the president's desk by early next month. Final passage is expected Thursday, after roll call votes on amendments to add $213 million for procurement of armored Humvees and to boost border protection funds by $147 million.
Passage of the emergency spending bill will coincide with high-level negotiations over the fiscal 2006 budget resolution, with House and Senate moderates continuing to balk at proposed Medicaid cuts. GOP leaders and President Bush are pushing five-year spending cuts of up to $50 billion in a range of entitlement programs, but are running into difficulties with rebellious party members.
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