UPDATE 2-US lawmaker worried by sag in support for defense

* Murtha notes war spending bill nearly failed

* Says Pakistan situation biggest single U.S. threat

* May be tough to find funding for more F-22s (Adds further Murtha comments on Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan)

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - The powerful head of the House of Representatives subcommittee that controls the purse strings of the Pentagon said on Wednesday he was troubled by ebbing support for defense from fellow lawmakers.

Representative John Murtha, chairman of the defense subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, said defense spending was clearly going to decline in coming years, but the country faced new threats that needed to be addressed.

He cited waning support for defense among U.S. lawmakers, saying the recent fiscal 2009 war spending bill nearly failed but for the strong intervention by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"Defense is going to start to go down. The public has lost interest," the Democrat from Pennsylvania said.

"You're going to see a change, a sea change. I'm surprised myself at how little interest there is in what's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, and yet we've got troops deployed."