Beginning with the last Bush Administration, and continuing today, production of the Boeing C-17, which employs about 5,000 workers at the final assembly plant in Long Beach, has been the subject of an annual budget battle in Washington D.C. Earlier this week, two U.S. Senators held hearings to put the military on record about how many planes are needed in the fleet.

According to published reports, the Defense Department has not asked for funds for more C-17s since 2007. In that year, the Congress order 22 more planes even though the Air Force only wanted 12 more. In each budget year after 2007, the Air Force did not request any more planes, but congress continued buying. Including the 10 extra ordered by congress in 2007, the government has ordered a total of 43 C-17s beyond the number requested by the Air Force. When all ordered planes are delivered, the fleet will number 223.

As the various legislative committees work their way through the budget for next year, which begins on October 1, 2010, the voices calling for more C-17s are becoming quieter and the Obama Administration is turning up the heat to keep more of the big planes out of next year’s budget.

The Administration took its strongest possible stand when Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, backed up by President Obama, called for a veto of any funding bills which provide funds for any more C-17s. While the Administration has been vocal in the past about ending production, as far as we know, this is the first year they have used the veto threat on the C-17.

Next, on Tuesday, July, 13, 2010, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs' federal financial management subcommittee, held hearings on the need for more C-17s. According to published reports, Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and John McCain, R-Ariz., held the hearing Tuesday, outside of the normal budget hearings.

The hearing featured the testimony of three high level Defense Department officials - Mike McCord, principal deputy undersecretary of defense (comptroller), Air Force Maj. Gen. Susan Y. Desjardins, director of strategic plans for Air Mobility Command, and Alan Estevez, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for logistical and materiel readiness. All three defense officials repeated the familiar position of the Defense Department and the President - summed up by McCord, who said "we have enough C-17s.”

Since his district includes much of the area near Boeing’s C-17 facility in Long Beach, on June 22, 2010, www.OC180NEWS.com checked in with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), to see where he stood on the issue of more C-17 production. At that time, he responded with the following “The C-17 is a vitally important resource for our troops in theater and gives us a more efficient way to project our power overseas. And that is the best use of our defense dollars.”

We also followed up with Rep Rohrabacher yesterday to see if he had any comment on the Senate Subcommittee hearings and is office told us he had no comment and did not normally comment on senate subcommittee business.

In the mean time, Boeing is doing everything possible to sign some international orders for C-17s. We asked Boeing C-17 spokesman Jerry Drelling what he thought of the subcommittee hearings and he replied with the following:
“Boeing is grateful for the strong bipartisan Congressional support the C-17 Program continues to receive. The C-17 is the gold standard for reliability and value with years of on time deliveries all the while expanding aircraft operational capabilities and reducing production costs. We will continue to work with the Congress and the administration on ways to preserve this critical defense production capability -- one that is critical to support our troops in battle, assist in alleviating suffering in humanitarian crises, and strengthens National Guard capabilities nationwide. We are also receiving great interest from overseas customers looking to meet growing global airlift needs. New opportunities in the international market underscore the blend of value and capabilities that make the C-17 unique among heavy lift aircraft. International sales also are good for the U.S. economy and preserve jobs during tough economic times.”