C-17 Gets Funding

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The C-17 cargo jet program in Long Beach got a boost Friday when the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $542 million in funding for three additional planes as part of a 2007 supplemental budget package, California Senator Dianne Feinstein announced.


Earlier this month Boeing Co., the jet’s manufacture, told the government it needed solid orders for future cargo jets by August or it would begin the task of shutting down the Long Beach plant. The factory employees about 12,000 workers and does about $4 billion worth of business in the state. The plant is scheduled to produce its last jet in late 2008.


The budget bill still needs to go to the full Senate, and then on to a conference committee with the House before final votes by both chambers. The bill also includes $97 million for maintenance and modifications for in-service aircraft.


Separately, Boeing announced plans to consolidate an Anaheim facility that makes military aircraft, satellites, and surveillance systems with a Huntington Beach plant. Some 3,700 employees are expected to be relocated at the beginning next year. The Anaheim location will subsequently be put on the market.

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