The US House of Representatives passed a 636-billion-dollar defence bill on Thursday after removing money to continue production of the F-22, meeting a key demand by President Barack Obama, according to dpa. The bill, for fiscal 2010 and including 128 billion dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, passed by a 400-30 vote. Lawmakers voted 269-165 to slash 369 million dollars designated as down payments for the F-22 Raptor. Obama and Defence Secretary Robert Gates had lobbied Congress to cut funding for any F-22 beyond the 187 already planned, arguing that while highly advanced, it came at too high a cost and was a legacy of the Cold War. At 150 million dollars each, the F-22 has been riddled with cost overruns, and drains money from other priorities like providing troops with the tools needed to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Gates said. Obama had threatened to veto the bill if the fighter jet was kept alive.
