Southland

B-2 Bomber Faces Next Hurdle: The future of Northrop Grumman Corp.’s B-2 bomber program, which the company says supports an estimated 25,000 direct and indirect jobs in California, faces another big test as House lawmakers return from their summer recess this week. A House committee recently added $493 million to its fiscal 1996 military spending bill--in order to keep the B-2 program alive beyond the 20 bombers the Pentagon has already ordered--and the full House is expected to vote on the bill soon after it returns Wednesday. But B-2 opponents, including Rep. Ronald V. Dellums (D-Oakland) are trying to strip the funds from the bill, and so far the Senate has not included new money for the plane. Employees of the B-2 program, which has cost more than $44 billion to date, are mainly in Palmdale and Pico Rivera.