The issue focused on the United States' national security interest in using or developing F-35s. A number of members of Congress (the most famous of which is Rep. Tom Lantos) have called for the use of the F-35B. The United States is not in a position to put the F-35B in the air, as the program is not under U.S. control, and the war in Iraq is not on the president's terms. The three most common reasons for the