WASHINGTON — Congress is knocking nearly $1 billion off President Barack Obama’s request for Afghanistan’s security forces and instead devoting the money to buying more mine-resistant vehicles for U.S. troops there.
The move comes as top House-Senate lawmakers are putting the finishing touches on a $626 billion Pentagon spending bill that Democratic leaders hope to clear for Obama’s signature by Friday.
Details of the measure emerged from lobbyists and staff aides who demanded anonymity.
The defense measure contains $128 billion to support Obama’s February request for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The president has yet to request funds for his recently-announced troop increase in Afghanistan.
The measure would trim $900 million from the Pentagon’s $7.5 billion budget to train Afghan security forces. It would use the money to buy about 1,400 additional mine-resistance vehicles suited for rugged conditions in Afghanistan.
Lawmakers said they support training Afghan soldiers — the linchpin in the strategy to end the war. But Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has said the Afghan government can’t use all the money until 2011. Negotiators siphoned the money for more armored vehicles.
The underlying defense bill is also expected to fund 10 C-17 cargo jets despite Obama’s demand to cease production of the planes, which are assembled by the Boeing Co. in Long Beach, Calif.
The package contains about $465 million to develop an alternative engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Air Force’s multimission fighter of the future.
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