Congress Drops Jet Purchase

Guess our politicians ought to get used to coach: The Wall Street Journal reports that “House leaders late Monday dropped plans to spend $550 million on Air Force passenger planes for use by senior government officials, a sum that more than doubled the Pentagon's official request and had drawn strong public criticism.” Instead, “The House will seek only $220 million to purchase one Gulfstream plane and three Boeing Co. aircraft, which was the original request by Department of Defense officials.” After the intended purchase became public, the Pentagon said it did not want that many planes. "If the Department of Defense does not want these aircraft, they will be eliminated from the bill," said John Murtha (D-PA), the congressman who heads the committee that requested the fleet.