Tankers

Floor Speech

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I come to the House floor late this afternoon to express my concern with the United States Air Force's decision to award the $35 billion contract to build the next generation of aerial refueling tankers to a foreign-led consortium of companies over a proposal put forth by American-based Boeing.

As I stand here today, Americans across the country are hopefully receiving in the mail our effort to stimulate the U.S. economy, that $600 check. Why, during this time when we're trying to address the issue of our economy and create jobs, is our government outsourcing a multi-billion dollar tanker contract to a foreign company instead of creating those jobs here in America?

The Air Force's selection of European Aeronautic Defence and Space will lead to about 19,000 aerospace jobs in Europe. This decision has a significant impact, of course, in my home State of Kansas. Boeing's finishing and test center for tankers would take place in Wichita. Throughout the State, local suppliers would provide support services and parts for Boeing. In Kansas alone, Boeing's proposal would create or sustain 3,800 jobs and $145 million annually, important investments that Europe now stands to gain.

Not only is the Air Force's decision a blow to American jobs, it's bad for our servicemembers and bad for the American taxpayer. Now that we've had a chance to look at the Air Force's analysis, we see how badly flawed the tanker selection competition was. The result is that the Air Force chose a tanker that is higher cost, higher risk, less capable, less survivable, and less efficient.

Boeing has filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office. I have listened to the explanation of the Air Force and the Department of Defense officials and I remain unconvinced that this was a fair competition. And so we now eagerly await GAO's results later this summer.

In the meantime, the Air Force's decision has raised questions that Congress should address. How does this decision impact America's economic security? How does it impact our military security? What are the national security effects of outsourcing critical military work to France and other foreign countries that often oppose our country's foreign policy? Should the Department of Defense's procurement process take into account billions of WTO-disputed foreign subsidies that give foreign manufacturers heavily weighted advantage in these competitions?

Air Force refueling tankers allow our military to operate around the world. In this day and age, the importance of modernizing our aging tanker fleet with the best available option cannot be overstated. In the coming weeks and months, I urge my colleagues in Congress to work to ensure that the right choice is made for Americans and America's military men and women.

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