Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. House leaders say they will drop plans to purchase four more VIP jets than were requested by the Department of Defense to transport government officials on foreign trips.

Representative John Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who leads the House defense appropriations subcommittee, said he would cut the additional aircraft from legislation that would provide $636.3 billion for the U.S. military in fiscal 2010.

“If the Department of Defense does not want these aircraft, they will be eliminated from the bill,” Murtha said in a statement issued yesterday.

Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said today in an e-mail that “the speaker supports Chairman Murtha’s decision.”

Members of Congress travel by military plane on official foreign trips, particularly to war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Murtha denied that the House added the extra planes to improve lawmakers’ travel, noting that “over the last five years, 85 percent of the use of these planes has been by the executive branch.”

The change would likely occur in a House-Senate conference to resolve differences between the House-passed defense budget and what the Senate eventually produces. The House passed its legislation in June on a 400-30 vote.

Pentagon Welcomes Decision

In an e-mail today, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell welcomed the decision. “We asked for what we need and want nothing more than that,” Morrell said.

Murtha, in his statement, defended the request for the two extra Gulfstream C-37s, the military version of General Dynamics Corp.’s Gulfstream V, and two additional C-40s, the military version of the Boeing Co.’s 737.

The newer aircraft would replace older planes in the military’s fleet and would cost “significantly less” to operate, he said.

The hourly cost to operate the C-37 -- $2,658 -- is less than half the $4,962 it costs each hour to fly the older C-20s, which the new aircraft would replace, Murtha said.

The C-40s would replace two 34-year-old C-9 aircraft that cost $1,000 more an hour to operate, Murtha said.

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To contact the reporter on this story: James Rowley at jarowley@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 11, 2009 12:40 EDT