The U.S. Senate on Friday approved $4.4 billion in funding for 22 C-17 military transport aircraft, 10 more than originally requested by the Bush Administration.

The additional $2.1 billion in funding should be enough to keep Boeing Co.’s Long Beach C-17 assembly plant open through 2009. Last month, Boeing announced it was halting orders from C-17 parts suppliers and would shut down the facility which employs 5,500 people in early 2009 unless more funding was forthcoming.

The funding was part of the $448 billion defense appropriations bill for the 2007 fiscal year beginning Sunday that cleared the Senate and is headed to President George W. Bush for his signature.

The vote was announced by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Earlier this month, after intense lobbying from California’s congressional delegation, the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the city of Long Beach, a joint House-Senate conference committee inserted the additional funding in the defense appropriations bill.