Congressman Tim Griffin (AR-02) today issued the following statement after voting to support the elimination of the F-35 alternate engine program, saving taxpayers $450 million in the remaining seven months of fiscal year 2011:
“The alternate engine program is wasteful and unnecessary and a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives agrees. We were sent here to get our fiscal house in order and that means everything, including defense spending, is on the table. I am proud to cast this vote to save $450 million for the American taxpayer, and I look forward to working toward eliminating the $2.9 billion in further unnecessary spending on the alternate engine as we put together the budget for next year.”
Griffin voted for an amendment to H.R. 1, the continuing resolution that will keep the government running through the remainder of FY2011, sponsored by Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL) that would eliminate $450 million budgeted for the F-35 alternate engine program. The amendment passed 233-198.
