House Votes to Fund Just 2 B-2s : Also Calls for Cut in Program in ’90 to Reduce Cost

President Bush’s request for the radar-evading B-2 stealth bomber suffered a major setback today when the House voted to slow the costly program but refused to scrap it altogether.

Choosing between competing amendments, lawmakers adopted, 257 to 160, a measure by Reps. Les Aspin (D-Wis.) and Mike Synar (D-Okla.) that would limit the Administration to funding production of only two of the black, single-wing bombers next year instead of Bush’s request for three. It would be authorized to build those only after Defense Secretary Dick Cheney cuts the overall program to reduce its cost.

Aspin said the amendment would require Cheney to buy fewer than the 132 planes now planned.

“In other words: prune it or park it,” Aspin said.

The size of the cut would be up to Cheney, subject to Congress’ approval.

The House rejected 279 to 144 an effort to kill the bomber and rejected 244 to 176 one to essentially approve Bush’s request for the plane.

Senate Approval

Bush won 98-1 Senate approval Tuesday of his request for production of three of the bombers next year, on condition that the B-2 passes flying and radar-evasion tests.

A conference of senators and House members will have to work out a compromise for Congress’ final approval.

Bush and his advisers told members of Congress that if they killed the B-2 he would have to reconsider U.S.-Soviet negotiations to halve long-range nuclear missiles because that would shift greater reliance to bombers.

The Air Force says the stealth, which made its first test flight early last week, is the only U.S. bomber that will be able to fly through Soviet radar in the next century.

The bomber is built of non-metal materials and deflects radar signals to become so small a radar target that it can fly between Soviet radar installations.