Pentagon Outmaneuvers Congress on F-22

"The defense bill is the defense bill, and you will obey what it says -- period," a moderately unhappy Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), chairman of the House Armed Services air-land panel, told Young.

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Abercrombie and members of both parties made it very clear to Young that they thought the Pentagon had flouted both the spirit and the intent of the law, which directed that $140 million be spent on advanced procurement of Raptors. The money would make it possible to fund an additional 20 F-22s and, perhaps more importantly, to keep the production lines open.

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The Pentagon countered with plans to buy four more F-22s in the next supplemental spending bill and Young announced that he has approved Air Force spending of as much as $50 million for advance procurement.

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During the hearing, Young told Abercrombie and his colleagues that the Pentagon acted because it did not want to tie the hands of the Obama administration. But the effect of the decision, according to congressional aides, is to make any expansion of the F-22 buy highly unlikely.

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But Congress appears to have been outfoxed.

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By the time Congress could take any action to force the Pentagon to comply with the law -- several months -- the decision will already be in the hands of the new administration.

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