Oh, and if you think it isn't about jobs in a district, you would be wrong (again).  Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME), whom you cited as introducing an amendment to cut the F136 program - guess what company is in Maine?  Yes, that would be Pratt & Witney - the company who stands to keep their monopoly on building this particular type of engine.

Wonder which Republican proposed the amendment? Obama promised to veto any bill included funding ($500mil) for the Joint Strike Fighter's Alternate Engine Program.

Obviously s/he proposed the amendment assuming that Obama promised a veto and they would have effectively blocked the bill.

The General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 engine for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter appears increasingly likely to survive at least one more year after a slew of Capitol Hill developments created a scenario where the Obama administration's veto threat may fall victim to other priorities.

Democratic-led votes by the House and a key Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on May 27 pushing repeal of the so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in the military over homosexuality suddenly lined up that administration priority against any veto threats previously levied over defense acquisitions.

The votes come as lawmakers prepare Fiscal 2011 defense authorization legislation, a highly popular policy bill made even more politically important this summer as Congress faces November elections that are expected to challenge Democratic control of one, if not both, chambers.

Meanwhile, the whole House is now on record, literally, in defense of its Armed Services Committee's $485-million authorization of the F136. The House voted 231-193 against an amendment to the defense bill there that would have diverted F136 funds elsewhere, thus establishing a majority already willing to vote against a possible veto.

At the same time, the corresponding Senate committee's chairman let it be known that he again supports having dueling engines and was "very encouraged" by the House. Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) told reporters on May 28 that while his panel took no action on F136 in its May 26-27 markup of the defense bill, he expects it to be a major issue by the time authorizers hash out a compromise of the two chambers' bills, and that he would like the F136 to continue. "It makes sense to have that competition," he said.

Asked about the White House and Pentagon veto recommendation over the F136, Levin instead played up the comprehensive and otherwise popular provisions of the annual defense measure, like a 1.4% across-the-board pay raise for all members of the uniformed services. "It's difficult for me to believe the president won't look at the entire bill, rather than just one provision," said Levin, who has been an SASC leader for years.