In what was extraordinarily more decisive than many had predicted, the Senate voted 58-40 to strip the F-22 out of the Senate Bill.
F-22 Lifted
The Obama administration mounted a lobbying effort to avert the loss behind the scenes. Even Sen. Kerry, who voted for the amendment in the committee, sided with the Obama administration.
Mindful of the stakes, the administration mounted a late-breaking lobbying campaign to avert what would have been an embarrassing loss for the White House.
Gates himself was the most public point man for the administration, making calls to senators and delivering a toughly worded speech last week in Chicago. But behind the scenes, Obama and his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel also jumped in on the phones, and Vice President Joe Biden called senators last week — including his old friend, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), an ardent F-22 backer.
......
A closely watched vote was Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D., Mass.), a past F-22 backer who spoke with the Gates Monday. His Massachusetts colleague, Sen. Ted Kennedy, had cast a decisive vote in the Senate Armed Services Committee for the F-22. But Kerry backed the administration on the floor.
Yet for some Democrats, it was a foolish fight for Obama to elevate so high, with early, bluntly worded veto threats that left little room for compromise. Amid the troubled economy, F-22 supporters said thousands of aerospace
jobs were being put in jeopardy for what is really a small percentage of the defense budget.
This also means that Hate Crimes Bill has a CLEAR path to Obama's desk where he should sign it sometime after the conference vote.
Final Roll Call Here:
YEAs ---58
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennet (D-CO)
Bond (R-MO)
Brown (D-OH)
Burris (D-IL)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corker (R-TN)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feingold (D-WI)
Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagan (D-NC)
Harkin (D-IA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kaufman (D-DE)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCain (R-AZ)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shelby (R-AL)
Specter (D-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Udall (D-CO)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (D-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
NAYs ---40
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
Dodd (D-CT)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Martinez (R-FL)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Snowe (R-ME)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Udall (D-NM)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)
Not Voting - 2
Kennedy (D-MA)
Mikulski (D-MD)