Patty Murray's Washington View

PATTY MURRAY'S WASHINGTON VIEW

U.S. Senator Patty Murray's Weekly Report to the People of Washington - April 9, 2004

Challenging Airbus, Defending WA Jobs

Recently, I wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld calling into question Airbus's campaign of distortion and half-truths aimed at undermining Boeing, the Air Force and the KC-767 tanker lease program. While Secretary Rumsfeld has yet to reply to my letter, I did get a reply from Mr. Ralph Crosby, the CEO of the North America division of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, owner of Airbus. Mr. Crosby continues to assert that EADS and Airbus are interested in supplying tanker aircraft to the Air Force. I wrote back to Mr. Crosby this week demanding that Airbus provide the American public with a full accounting of its lobbying activities and its work with tanker opponents in Washington, D.C. I asked Airbus to make public its tanker proposal, which the Air Force deemed "high risk" when it selected Boeing to manufacture tankers. I do not expect Airbus to provide the American public with any of this information. But, you can be sure, Airbus will continue its efforts to take the tanker contract from Boeing and its American workforce - and to outsource it to Europe. There is a thorough and comprehensive review of the tanker deal now underway in Washington, D.C. Importantly, this week, the Department of Defense's Inspector General's report on the tanker deal was released in public. Despite highlighting several areas of concern, the IG concluded that there was no compelling reason not to proceed with the Tanker Lease program. I will continue to work against Airbus's efforts to deny work to Boeing and its employees.