quote Lawmakers, however, may have other things than military effectiveness in mind — namely, jobs and the economic impact of production. The additional planes were added to the House version of the funding bill at the urging of Rep. Kay Granger, a Republican who represents the Texas district that contains Lockheed’s F-35 assembly plant. Lockheed has strong support in Congress, Capaccio notes, thanks in part to its network of 1,500 suppliers scattered across 46 states.
Defense analyst Richard Aboulafia told Capaccio that the push to build more F-35s in the coming fiscal year is “really a simple matter of wanting more jobs and money.” At current levels, the “program is very healthy and fat with orders, so more planes are just icing on the cake,” Aboulafia said, adding that the additional funding might be better spent on sustaining the existing fleet. unquote
As for the original post, they would not pass the rate hike for retirement. The people voted against a new fire fee. They just raised the millage rate Go figure.