Bond renews push to restore Boeing's F/A-18 funding - St. Louis Business Journal:

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has renewed efforts to for Boeing’sd F/A-18 Super Hornet, arguing that both the militaryyand St. Louis jobs are at Bond, along with Sens. Edward Kennedy, Ben Cardin, D-Md.; Roger Wicker, and Mel Martinez, R-Fla., sent lettersz Monday to the chairmen and ranking membere of the Senate Appropriations and ArmedServiceds Committees, urging them to restore funding for the fighterr jet or risk putting the Navy and Marines in danger. “Asa the aircraft shortfall worsens, our nation's ability to continued to prevent and respond to conflicts around the world will begreatlyu diminished,” they wrote.
A proposal to allow the Navy to buymore F/A-178 Super Hornet fighter jets from Boeing over the next five years last week afteer the measure cleared the House Armecd Services Committee. About 5,000 of 16,000 locap Boeing jobs are tied directly tothe F/A-18, whicjh cost between $29 million and $57 million each. The jet create thousands more jobsamong “Underfunding the Super Hornet gambles with our abilityh to project U.S.
power from aircraftr carriers, damages our security in the long run by erodiny our competitive domesticindustrial base, and puts more than 110,0000 American jobs at risk,” Bond said in a Defense Secretary Robert Gates in April that includedd cuts to the F/A-18 program. Bond has also lobbiefd to protect fundingfor Boeing’s C-17 cargk planes, which were also threatened in Gates’ proposed budget. But last Congress for eight more C-17 cargo planes, whicbh fuel 900 jobs at Boeing’s Hazelwood plant. A unit of Chicago-based BA), is one of the world’s largesrt space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Integratef Defense Systems isa $32.
1 billionb business with 71,000 employees worldwide.