WASHINGTON - Lawmakers from Washington state and Kansas joined labor leaders on Thursday to protest the massive Air Force tanker contract that Boeing Co. lost to a European rival, and vowed to stymie the deal in Congress.
Organizers of the Capitol Hill rally said the contract would subsidize foreign competitors at the expense of U.S jobs in the aerospace defense industry, particularly in those two states, where much of the work on the tanker would have been performed had Boeing won.
"The Air Force process was so badly flawed that it was skewed to favor one bid," said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. "What should have been a boon to American taxpayers is instead an embarrassment to American taxpayers
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., called the Air Force's decision "an insult to our workers" and also raised questions about the fairness of the selection process.
"The rules were changed on Boeing time and time again in order to keep a foreign competitor at the table," Murray charged.
Congressional members from the two states have proclaimed outrage ever since the Air Force's decision in February to award a $35 billion contract for refueling tankers to Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and its U.S. partner, Northrop Grumman Corp.
The award came as a shock to Boeing, which has supplied tankers to the Air Force for nearly 50 years and was widely considered the favorite to win the deal. Boeing filed a formal protest with the Government Accountability Office on March 11 and expects a ruling by June.
Roberts, Murray and six other senators on Thursday sent a letter to President Bush claiming the award sends the wrong signal when at the same time, the U.S. is protesting unfair foreign subsidies to Airbus before the World Trade Organization.
Union leaders on Thursday focused on the potential loss of American jobs.
http://www.military.com/news/article/lawmakers-protest-35b-af-tanker-deal.html?col=1186032320397