McCain, Obama hedge on costly new Marine One

Originally carrying a hefty price tag at $6.1 billion, the fleet of 28 helicopters being built to fly the next president is now projected to cost $11.2 billion.

At $400 million apiece, the helicopters far exceed a prime example McCain uses on the campaign trail to rail against congressional pork-barrel spending, a $230 million "bridge to nowhere" in Alaska. The British have bought the same base model helicopter for $57 million each.

In separate interviews with The Associated Press, the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates pledged to look at the program but stopped short of saying whether it should be canceled. Any review after the next president takes office in January would butt up against the first deliveries of the helicopters, slated for 2010.

McCain labeled the contract growth a "scandal" before asking to revise his assessment "in a more polite way." He said the program is part of "an out-of-control procurement system that has to be fixed."

Obama said, "I haven't taken a close look at it, but, in principle, it is a lot of money, even in Washington."

Asked whether the president needed such a large and expensive fleet of helicopters for his most common trip, a 10-minute flight to and from Andrews Air Force Base, Obama said: "Here's what I know: that we should be spending a lot more money trying to figure out how to get our energy policy right than we should be on helicopters for the president. I have not examined in detail this proposal, and since you brought it up, I'll take a close look at it."

Congress and the Pentagon are already reviewing the program to determine how to cope with the contract growth. In an audit, the Government Accountability Office has also raised concerns about the helicopter's weight and its new rotor system.

The program has its roots in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. After the attacks, President Bush flew on Air Force One, a customized Boeing 747, from Florida to military bases in Louisiana and Nebraska before returning to Washington. The chaos of that day underscored the need for secure communications and the commander in chief's ability to remain in contact at all times.

Some of the existing fleet of 19 presidential helicopters, any of which is known as "Marine One" when the president is aboard, are more than 30 years old. Several have broken down on presidential trips, a concern that prompted then-White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card to begin the replacement process in 2002.