[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 113 (Friday, July 24, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H8795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            F-22 PRODUCTION

  (Mr. GINGREY of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, 2 days after the Senate voted to 
strip funding for an additional seven F-22 Raptors from the 2010 
National Defense Authorization Act, it seems that critical information 
may have been withheld that could have influenced the outcome of this 
vote; an internal Pentagon oversight board report has revealed that 
full rate production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter may be delayed.
  Given that the need to transition to the F-35 was cited by several 
Senators who voted to terminate the F-22 program, it is indeed 
troubling that this information was held internally until after the F-
22 vote earlier this week. If the Pentagon had been forthright with the 
facts, there is a very strong chance that the hearts and the minds of 
several Senators might have been changed and the funding for the 
additional F-22s may not have been stripped.
  The news that the F-35 will again be delayed only further strengthens 
the argument for continued production of the world's only fifth-
generation fighter in full-rate production, the F-22 Raptor.
  I hope that as we move forward with negotiations between the House 
and the Senate on the future of the F-22 program, the Pentagon will 
make every effort possible to ensure that Congress is fully briefed on 
the facts and what they mean for the future of American air dominance.

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