OK of $268-Billion Defense Bill Defies Clinton Election Promise

WASHINGTON — The Senate gave final congressional approval Thursday to a long-stalled $268-billion defense bill that fails to uphold a promise by President Clinton to protect jobs at defense maintenance depots scheduled for closure in California and Texas.

The vote was 90 to 10. Coming after last week’s lopsided House passage, Congress has enough votes to override a veto. But if Clinton were to strike the bill down after Congress adjourns for the year, it would remain in limbo until lawmakers return in January.

The defense bill was hung up for months by a dispute over the defense maintenance depots, huge facilities that employ thousands and spend billions of dollars repairing military aircraft and other equipment. Two of those bases, McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento and Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, are closing, and Clinton, in a preelection move, promised the two vote-rich states that he would keep jobs at their bases by shifting them to on-site work by the private sector.

The bill passed by Congress prevents Clinton from making good on that promise, and Congress has been told that Clinton’s top advisors will urge a veto.

The battle over depots pitted lawmakers from Texas and California against those from Utah, Oklahoma and Georgia, whose military depots stand to gain aircraft maintenance jobs.

The compromise bill rejects Clinton’s idea of shifting the McClellan and Kelly jobs to on-site contractors but does allow open bidding for some military maintenance work, which, in theory, could save jobs at the closing bases.

Lawmakers from California and Texas, however, say the bidding will be biased from the beginning. When private companies put in for aircraft maintenance work, they must account for all of their overhead in their pricing; public depots don’t have to allow for all of their costs, they argued.

Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) said there are indications that Defense Secretary William S. Cohen may support the compromise, but a Pentagon spokesman said no decision had been made.

The legislation gives Clinton the power to kill the B-2 bomber program, requires him to report in detail to Congress before prolonging the U.S. troop deployment to Bosnia, fully funds the joint-strike fighter jets and adds $720 million for a fourth Aegis destroyer.