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thedrifter
07-14-09, 06:48 AM
MILITARY: Dems reject Bilbray, Hunter earmarks for Predators

By MARK WALKER - mlwalker@nctimes.com

A $26 million earmark sought by U.S. Reps. Brian Bilbray and Duncan D. Hunter for two unmanned aircraft known as Predators failed to fly with the House Armed Services Committee.

Leadership of the Democrat-controlled committee ignored the application from the two North County Republican lawmakers when reviewing funding requests attached to the 2010 Defense Authorization bill, Bilbray spokesman Fritz Chaleff said Monday.

The request raised eyebrows when it was filed because funding for unmanned aircraft typically comes from the Pentagon and not through earmarks, the term used when lawmakers seek money for a specific item and bypass the normal appropriations process.

It also sparked interest because the San Diego company that manufactures the Predator, General Atomics, is a leading contributor to the Hunter and Bilbray campaigns.

Hunter, whose district includes Poway and Ramona, said the request was made before the Pentagon filed its 2010 budget proposal, which asks for 50 new Predators.

The bill passed the House on June 25 and is now working its way through the Senate.

"There's two ways to look at this," Hunter said Monday. "One is that the process worked the way it is supposed to in that the request was considered. The other is that we did not know when we made the request that the Defense Department was going to ask for 50."

Hunter reiterated his belief that additional unmanned aircraft are needed.

"We aren't able to watch the roads in Afghanistan like we have been able to do in Iraq," he said. "As we ramp up forces in Afghanistan, we are losing more guys to roadside bombs because we don't have enough eyes in the sky."

Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, made the request after a visit with commanders in Afghanistan earlier this year, said his spokesman, Fritz Chaleff.

"He felt this was an important earmark," Chaleff said, adding that Bilbray has no plans to pursue the funding when the House and Senate versions of the bill are worked out and it comes up for final approval.

Bilbray was not immediately available for comment.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that getting 50 additional unmanned aircraft would represent a 62 percent increase in the number available for work in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Federal Election Commission records show General Atomics corporate officers and their wives contributed $13,400 to Hunter's congressional campaign in 2007 and 2008.

The company's political action committee donated an additional $8,300, raising his total from General Atomics to $21,700.

The company and its officers donated $17,150 to Bilbray in the last election cycle.

Requesting a military appropriation through an earmark is nothing new. Such requests are subject to increasing scrutiny by watchdog groups and others, however, who contend that increased use of earmarks in recent years is an inappropriate way to fund the nation's needs.

Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation watchdog group in Washington said he thought the Hunter and Bilbray earmark would stick.

"It's a little bit of a surprise it was turned down, because even though Democrats control the committee, big-ticket items sought from firms such as General Atomics that have a long relationship with Congress usually survive."

A couple of Hunter's other defense-related earmarks did win approval in the House version of the bill ---- $3 million for a helicopter sensor system to deal with poor visibility and $1 million for a training device to teach troops the best way to apply tourniquets.

Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-740-3529.

Ellie