The Nation - News from July 24, 1989

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and a key congressional leader defended continued production of the $70.2-billion B-2 stealth bomber on the eve of a House and Senate debate over the nation’s defense budget. Cheney told ABC’s “This Week With David Brinkley” that any slowdown in production of the bomber--a bat-shaped plane designed to elude enemy radar--would add to the cost of the stealth program. Meanwhile, Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said that, in the long run, halting production of the stealth bomber would be more costly than going ahead with plans to build the plane. “All of us are going through sticker shock with the cost of the B-2,” Nunn said. “If you look back and take the research and development out of (the total price tag) . . . I think you have to look at how much it’s going to cost from this point on.”