Now It's A Win For The White House On The F35

The Senate yesterday followed its vote to stop funding for additional F-22s with a vote to stop funding for an alternate engine for the F-35.  This was yet another administration proposal put forth by the White House and Defense Secretary Gates and another budget-related win for the administration.

Why was it a win?

1.  Like the F-22, it was an earmark that the White House proposed to eliminate.

2.  This is something the Bush administration repeatedly proposed but could never get done even when both houses of Congress were controlled by the GOP.

3.  It saves money.

As with the F-22, there's a long way to go before anyone can be sure that the alternate engine for the F-35 isn't funded.  But this first not-so-small step is something that should definitely be noted for the record.

(Full Disclosure: As I've said before, my firm works for one of the participants in the this debate.  I'm comfortable writing about the vote because of its budget consequences and implications, two subjects that CG&G routinely discusses.)