SECTION: News; Pg. 6A

LENGTH: 457 words

HEADLINE: Georgia projects survive early vote

BYLINE: GEORGE EDMONSON

SOURCE: Cox Washington Bureau

BODY:
Washington --- The Senate Armed Services Committee on Friday approved a Defense Department spending bill that includes money for planes to be built in Georgia.

The proposal also contains language to keep B-1 bombers at Robins Air Force Base south of Macon until certain conditions are met.

The bill, which is expected to go to the full Senate in mid-month, was crafted in closed sessions this week. Democrats and Republicans on the committee split their vote 13-12. Chief among contentious issues was cutting $1.3 billion from the president's $8.3 billion request for national missile defense. The bill also has a provision that requires Bush to notify Congress before any activity that he thinks would violate the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Congress then would vote within 30 days whether to provide funds.

"This will be a very contentious issue as we go to the floor," said U.S. Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.), a member of the committee.

The bill also would allow another round of base closings, certain to be controversial. The Defense spending plan approved by a House of Representatives' committee does not address that issue.

Cleland said he opposed the base-closing proposal in the committee and plans to continue fighting it on the Senate floor.

"The good news about Georgia is that our bases are actually, I think, in many ways, stronger," he said. "We've gotten new missions and new assignments for many bases in Georgia that I think bode well for their futures."

Differences in the two chambers' final bills for the 2002 fiscal year will be addressed in a conference committee.

Among provisions in the Senate bill related to Georgia, Cleland said, are: $601.8 million for seven C-130Js made by Lockheed Martin Corp. at its Marietta plant. That number is one more than requested by the administration, Cleland said. $3 billion for procurement of 13 F-22 stealth fighters and $888.6 million for F-22 research and development. Lockheed assembles the jets at Marietta. $332 million for another plane in the Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System program, known as JSTARS, at Robins. $440 million to convert four Trident submarines to cruise-missile configuration at Kings Bay submarine base in southeast Georgia and in Washington state.

The bill also provides $100 million to keep B-1 bombers in place, Cleland said, although the Air Force wants to reduce the fleet and put the planes at bases in Texas and South Dakota.

He said the bill requires completion of several reports, including a military review, before any action on the B-1 could occur. All are to be done by February, he said.

"We're not wanting to hold this thing up forever," the senator said.

GRAPHIC: Photo:
Senate Armed Services Committee members Max Cleland (D-Ga.) (from left), Jack Reid (D-R.I.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.) emerge from a meeting Friday./ PAUL HOSEFROS / New York Times

LOAD-DATE: September 08, 2001