With little fanfare on Saturday, the Senate approved and President Obama subsequently signed the final
FY2010 U.S. defense appropriations bill. The $636.3 billion bill includes limited funding for the Lockheed Martin/AgustaWestland VH-71 presidential helicopter, which is based on the triple-engine AgustaWestland AW101.
The White House press secretary issued this brief statement: “On December 19, 2009, the President signed into law H.R. 3326, the ‘Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010,’ which provides FY 2010 appropriations for Department of Defense (DOD) military programs, including funding for Overseas Contingency Operations, and extends various expiring authorities and other non-defense FY 2010 appropriations.” No mention was made of the VH-71 presidential helicopter program.
It was on May 15, at the direction of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, that the Pentagon terminated the VH-71, which had been
plagued by delays and cost overruns ($3.3 billion spent to date), on May 15 last year. Since then, proponents of the program, publicly led by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), have lobbied to have funds to continue the VH-71 program included in the FY2010 defense appropriations bill. The FY2009 defense budget ended on September 30, after which Congress passed a resolution to temporarily keep funds flowing to the Department of Defense.
