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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 Obama gets pro-Boeing message Associated Press WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of lawmakers who support Boeing in its bid for a $35 billion tanker contract want President Barack Obama to force the Air Force to include a recent World Trade Organization ruling against Airbus in its decision. The WTO in September issued an interim ruling that found Airbus received illegal launch aid from European governments to build its aircraft. Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. and Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. NV are competing against Chicago-based Boeing for the third time to replace 179 aging Air Force refueling tankers. In a letter Monday, Reps. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., and 37 other Boeing supporters pressed Obama to find a way for the Air Force to account for the WTO ruling. A separate ruling on a European Union counter-complaint against the U.S. is expected in a few months. “It is clear that the illegal subsidies Airbus received gives it an unacceptable advantage in the tanker competition, and we would be remiss if we did not address this inequity,” Inslee said in a statement. A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday afternoon. The Air Force, which has put the tanker competition as its top acquisition priority, has maintained that the WTO’s ruling is irrelevant to the tanker competition and should be excluded from its final decision. Northrop and Airbus are offering a tanker based on the Airbus A330. Boeing may offer its 767-based tanker, a larger 777-based tanker, or both. “The EU complaint against Boeing has yet to be heard so the most fair, open and transparent position that can be taken is to allow the WTO process to play itself out rather than rushing to a ‘half-judgment,”’ Northrop spokesman Randy Belote said in a statement. Northrop supporters, including Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., have said the latest competition favors Boeing because of the Air Force’s decision to omit risk when evaluating certain factors, like whether bidders can stay on schedule or keep price promises. The Pentagon has tried and failed twice to award a contract to replace its Eisenhower-era fleet of tankers that refuel military planes in flight. The last attempt in early 2008 awarded to Northrop and Airbus was overturned on appeal and led Pentagon leaders to temporarily revoke the Air Force’s authority to award a contract. The 2004 award to Boeing was undone by an ethics scandal that resulted in prison terms for a former company executive and a former high-ranking Air Force official. The tanker deal — one of the largest in Pentagon history — is the first of three contracts worth up to $100 billion to replace nearly 600 aircraft over the next 30 years. READER COMMENTS Log in or register to post new comment | Log out it should be Boeing The Tanker should be Boeing, they have built tankers and know how to!! let alone security and US jobs ! Airbus consortium has not built one, thier's would be a prototype like the 787 is... Though the board of directors need to oust McNerny, kight and Carson as they are liers and cant be trusted as you see by this deal they have been making between WA and SC, lying to Washington State, the Union that was trying to work with them. If the leaders of Boeing cant be trusted we will loose it again like back in '04. It has hurt the stock ! the way they just dump money with no common sense but to screw everyone that has supported the company for years. This leadership is wrong and cant be trusted ! Mark Davis | Nov 3, 2009 12:17 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal the billion dollar Boeing bailout that has become the biggest military procurement scandal in decades. The 256-page report chronicles how senior Pentagon officials let Boeing play by a different set of procurement rules Ashdown 202.546.8500 x110 TCS Statement on Inspector General Tanker Report Washington, D.C. – The following is a written statement by Keith Ashdown, Vice-President of Policy of Taxpayers for Common Sense on the IG Tanker report: Taxpayers for Common Sense commends the Inspector General for this comprehensive study of the K-767 Tanker deal, the billion dollar Boeing bailout that has become the biggest military procurement scandal in decades. The 256-page report chronicles how senior Pentagon officials let Boeing play by a different set of procurement rules in attempting to award them this unprecedented sweetheart deal. The report also implicates numerous other military officials and throws cold water on the lone gunman theory that Darleen Druyun is entirely to blame for this mess. If that were true, we could close this case once and for all, but the report suggests that the deal had far deeper roots, and we are now left with more questions than answers. We now know that at the highest levels of the Pentagon and the White House, the wheels were greased to direct billions in corporate welfare to the Boeing despite there being virtually no evidence that there was an immediate need to replace the current tanker fleet. However, because the names of military officials, Boeing officials and lawmakers were redacted from the report, we still don’t know everyone that was involved. This overzealous use of the Sharpie marker to redact key portions of the report does a disservice to the nation by leaving federal taxpayers in the dark. It is also disappointing that the Inspector General did not take more time to interview Edward Aldridge. Mr. Aldridge is the most senior official implicated in the tanker hubbub. A few phone calls and certified letters are not enough; Aldridge was in a position to know more than anyone else that has been implicated, and he alone can fill-in some of the remaining information gaps. Taxpayers have lost faith in how the military purchases weapons systems. The concern is that defense contractors run the show and there is no one that is ready to hold them accountable for their actions. This report could have changed that belief. The aggressive redaction of significant portions of the report and the softball interview process spoiled this golden opportunity to eliminate the cloud of controversy surrounding the military's acquisition process. thomas h | Nov 9, 2009 11:01 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal (No heading) Frankly, there need be only these considerations. Protection of taxpayer monies and our military technology and security. There is absolutely no solid good reasoning behind allowing Airbus to have any part of this deal. They have already stated a desire to make tankers for other countries from this design and can you imagine if they were building them in the US for sale to say, Iran??? Please. CC At the Big B | Nov 3, 2009 12:35 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

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