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The House of Armed Forces committee voted 31-26 on Wednesday to approve an amendment limiting painting and interior design choices for the new presidential aircrafts under development.
Representative Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut, said he had introduced the amendment to limit the cost of new aircraft.
"Extra paint can add weight to the plane," said Courtney. "Additional facilities inside can also increase costs and delays in the delivery of the plane."
But Representative Bradley Byrne, R-Alabama, raised an objection, saying the amendment "looks like an attempt to take it to the president."
"Before 2017, I did not remember attempts to block things like paint colors," he said.
The chairman of the committee, the representative Adam Smith, D-Washington, insisted that the amendment was not an attempt to trick the president.
"If I understand correctly, these planes will not be delivered until the end of 2024 or 2025. This president will never fly on this plane.We are simply trying to exercise our surveillance responsibilities to try to save the money. taxpayers, "he said.
Although the amendment was adopted by the committee during the review of the new National Defense authorization act on Wednesday, there is no guarantee that it will be included in the final version of the bill. Version of the Senate bill.
But for now, it seems that most lawmakers of the committee want to make sure that Congress has a say in any changes to the design of Air Force One.
The California Democrat Representative, John Garamendi, has called Air Force One "the representation of US power, the president," and said, "If anyone wants to change his appearance, his plan, we should have voice in the chapter.
Air Force One was revamped for the last time by industrial designer Raymond Loewy for President John F. Kennedy in 1962, when it was painted in sky blue and cyan.
Last year, a knowledgeable project official told CNN that Trump had taken an active part in discussions about the change in appearance of the presidential plane, but had indicated that no decision had still been taken.
The iconic blue and white aircraft could be redesigned to include a touch of red, said a manager at the time, but it's far from certain what it will look like.
Trump then confirmed that he wanted the new Air Force One aircraft to be painted in red, white and blue, giving up the classic "sky blue" design that they had for decades.
"Air Force One is going to be amazing," Trump told CBS during an interview last August. "It will be the top of the world, and it will be red, white and blue, which I think is appropriate."
In February 2018, the White House announced the conclusion of an agreement with Boeing regarding the development of two new Air Force One aircraft. The president called for the planes to be ready in 2021, at the start of his second term – three years earlier than the original 2024 plan.
The aircraft currently in service have been in service since 1990.
But the development of new aircraft was one of the first sources of controversy in the weeks following the Trump election, when he tweeted that the cost of the plane was "uncontrollable" and threatened to cancel production.
"Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but the costs are out of control: more than $ 4 billion." Cancel the order!
After the conclusion of an agreement, the White House claimed that the negotiation had allowed the US taxpayer to save about $ 1.4 billion compared to the original estimate.
Jeff Zeleny from CNN contributed to this report.
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