This morning the Senate Armed Services Committee affirmed a surprise move by its House equivalent last week, by voting to defy the Obama-Gates decision to kill off the next generation F-22 fighter program. (The Senate wants $1.75 billion to buy seven more F-22s in this year's budget; the House, $369 million as a down payment on an extra dozen future jets. But whatever the specifics, the Weekly Standard notes, the key is whether the F-22 assembly line will be kept alive by this year's budget process.)
The votes set the stage for Obama's first veto showdown with the Congress, and Gates called the House's vote "a big problem." Stay tuned.