Obama to sign defense bill on Wednesday

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will sign the 2010 defense authorization bill on Wednesday, the White House said on Tuesday.

Obama had said yesterday he would sign the measure at some point this week. The bill authorizes Pentagon operations, and his administration had threatened a veto because it calls for several programs the Pentagon had deemed unnecessary. Among those is an F-35 fighter jet engine built by General Electric Co and Rolls-Royce Group Plc.

Congress has allocated $560 million for that program this year.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, editing by Vicki Allen)