White House threatens veto of House defense bill

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday threatened to veto a $601.4 billion House of Representatives defense spending bill over 10 provisions including a cut of over $700 million in missile defense and a move to review the role of foreign subsidies in a $35 billion aerial tanker deal.

"If the final bill presented to the president contains any of the following provisions, the president's senior advisers would recommend that he veto the bill," it said in a statement.

House lawmakers continued debate late on Thursday evening about 58 amendments to a draft spending bill approved by the House Armed Services Committee last week on a 61-to-0 vote, adopting many despite the White House veto threat.

Lawmakers hoped to finish work on the legislation before traveling back to their home districts for Memorial Day.

The Senate Armed Services Committee has already passed a similar bill, which is due to be debated in the full Senate in June. Once each house has passed its version of the spending bill, it must be reconciled by House and Senate negotiators before the president can sign it into law.

The White House argued that the House bill would "retroactively change the rules of the KC-45 tanker competition, risk extended litigation, and could delay the Air Force's ability to obtain equipment that is critical for combat and humanitarian relief operations."

The Government Accountability Office is due to rule by June 19 on a protest by Boeing Co (BA.N) about the aircraft contract, awarded in February to Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and its European subcontractor, Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA).

But lawmakers who back Boeing have vowed to block the Northrop deal regardless of how the protest is decided.

The veto threat also covers provisions that would require the videotaping of all intelligence interrogations and would ban private contractors from carrying out interrogations, a job lawmakers said should be reserved for the government alone.

The White House said the measures would limit the United States' ability to obtain intelligence needed to protect Americans from attack and could have unintended consequences.

UNREQUESTED WEAPONS

The Bush administration also objected to -- but refrained from issuing a veto threat about -- more than 20 other provisions, including the addition of more than $9 billion in funding for weapons not requested by the Pentagon.

The White House said cuts to funding to start building missile-defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic could jeopardize U.S. security and delay the fielding of weapons meant to protect against an emerging missile threat from Iran.

The Democratic-controlled House approved $10.2 billion in funding for missile defense, $719 million less than the Pentagon requested, but $212.6 million above the current level.

The Senate Armed Services Committee bill fully funded the administration's plan to start deploying up to 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a tracking radar in the Czech Republic.