DeLauro Praises End of Wasteful F-35 Alternate Engine Program

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) issued the following statement today in response to the 233 to 198 vote in the House of Representatives that will end funding for the F-35 engine in the FY2011 Continuing Resolution.

"I am enormously pleased that the wasteful and unnecessary earmark for the Joint Strike Fighter extra engine was stopped today, and I was proud to cast my vote in opposition to it. The alternate engine, that Secretary Gates and the heads of our military services have made abundantly clear they do not need or want, has cost American taxpayers a staggering $3 billion already and the Defense Department believes it will take approximately $3 billion more to for it to be fully competitive.

"That is money that we should use to pay down the federal deficit, and to protect critical programs like education, home heating assistance, and job training programs from the reckless cuts being proposed. The Pentagon is pleased with the engine it has, manufactured by the highly-skilled workforce of Connecticut, and this vote is an important step toward maintaining those jobs."