FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Eight Texas Air National Guard cargo transport planes used for post-hurricane evacuations will remain in the state.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a $604 billion defense spending bill that reverses proposed Pentagon cuts in Air Force personnel and equipment.

The legislation provides $800 million to halt the Air Force's planned cuts. They included moving the C-130 Hercules planes out of Fort Worth's Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in two years.

The proposal had staunch opposition from Gulf Coast states' governors and Texas' congressional delegation.

They said responding to Gulf Coast disasters would take longer if the aircraft were in Montana.

Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas says the bill gives the committee time to develop a long-term plan with the Defense Department.

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