The House on Wednesday voted to stop funding the General Electric-Rolls Royce F136 engine, by a vote of 233 to 198. The House action stripped $450 million for the F136 from the new continuing resolution now under debate that would fund the Pentagon for the remainder of this fiscal year, reports Bloomberg. The vote brings Defense Secretary Robert Gates one step closer to his long-stated goal of killing the F136 and proceeding solely with Pratt & Whitney’s F135 to power future F-35 strike fighters. Prior to the House vote, Gates told members of the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that it “would be a waste of nearly $3 billion in a time of economic distress” to keep funding the F136. The current CR expires on March 4. The Senate still needs to take up the new stopgap funding measure and the F136 issue.
Earlier this week, the People’s Republic of China confirmed it is halting its nuclear arms control talks with the U.S., in retaliation for the U.S. continuing to sell arms to Taiwan. The move reinforces a “pattern of behavior” from Beijing, experts say.