Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008--Motion to Proceed--Continued

Floor Speech

RENEWABLE ENERGY AND JOB CREATION ACT OF 2008--MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued -- (Senate - June 17, 2008)

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Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, over the last 8 years, American families have watched as the price of everything from gas to groceries has gone up and up while the value of the dollar has gone down and down. Last month, they got more bad news. Employers cut jobs for the fifth straight month, bringing the total number of people looking for work to 8.5 million. It was the worst 1-month jump in unemployment in 22 years. That means that more of our workers are losing paychecks, even as they need money to pay for electricity, fuel, and food. It comes on top of the mortgage and credit crisis in which millions of families have watched their primary source of wealth, their homes, plummet in value.

Americans are looking to us for help, and we have to take action immediately. We have a proposal before us that would offer some relief by extending unemployment insurance for an extra 3 months. That would have two benefits. It would ensure that Americans, while they are looking for work, will still be able to put food on the table and fill up their gas tanks, and it will give our economy an immediate boost because that money will be spent quickly. This same measure passed the House overwhelmingly last week, because Members on both sides of the aisle realize that we have to move quickly. I am concerned that now Republicans are more interested in blocking our progress on anything than actually taking meaningful action for the American people. Instead of working with us, Republicans have filled endless hours on the floor with speeches complaining about problems but not offering any solutions. Instead of focusing on the concerns of working families, President Bush threatened to veto this bill, and then he left on a tour of Europe.

The American people are hurting. They have had enough of political games at their expense. I truly hope the President and his Republican allies will join us in supporting this very important measure to extend unemployment insurance.

AMERICAN AEROSPACE JOBS

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I turn now to another example of how the President's priorities are hurting working families, and that is the administration's decision to send 44,000 American aerospace jobs to Europe. Within the next couple days, the Government Accountability Office is going to issue a ruling on a decision regarding a defense contract. It is Boeing's first protest of a defense contract in three decades. Boeing is challenging the Air Force's choice to award a $35 billion contract to supply the military's next generation of aerial refueling tankers to a European company, Airbus. We are all now awaiting the GAO's ruling because it was clear there were some major flaws in that contract.

Ever since the Air Force announced in February that it had awarded the contract to Airbus, the Air Force has insisted there were no mistakes and the Airbus tanker cost less. Yet we have already learned that is not true.

Last week, the Air Force admitted to making a critical error when it calculated the operating cost of the two tankers. It is now acknowledging that the Airbus plane actually cost tens of millions of dollars more.

That isn't news that surprises us, but it is further evidence that we have to get more answers from the Pentagon before we, Congress, allow this contract to become a reality. That is why I have come to the floor this afternoon. While the GAO decision is important, it won't even come close to addressing all of the questions that have been raised about this contract. That is because the GAO's role in this process is very limited.

It can examine whether the Air Force followed the letter of the law in the selection process, but it cannot look at anything beyond that. So even if it is obvious to them that the Airbus tanker costs more, that it is less safe, or it doesn't meet the Air Force's needs, the GAO can't take any action. That is our job. That is Congress's job. We have to get answers to the questions that have been raised about this deal.

This is one of the largest contracts in our history, and it is incredibly important. Our tankers refuel planes and aircraft from every single branch of our military. As long as we control that refueling technology, we control our skies and our security, and that is extremely important to our national security. We have to make sure we are making the best decision for our taxpayers and for our servicemembers. That is Congress's responsibility.

I am especially concerned because when you compare Boeing's 767 with Airbus's A-330, the 767 is clearly a better plane. Compared to the 767, the Airbus tanker is a lot larger, it is less efficient, and it is more expensive to operate. According to the Air Force itself, the A-330--the Airbus tanker--ranked lower than the Boeing 767 in survivability, which is our ability to make sure that our warfighters who are flying those planes are safe. The Airbus tanker ranked much lower than the Boeing plane in keeping our men and women who are flying them safe.

Yet although I have asked the Air Force to explain its decision on this tanker numerous times over the last 3 months, I have been stonewalled again and again on answers. No one has explained why the Air Force would ask for a medium-sized plane and then go out and choose a much larger design which is going to cost billions of dollars more in just fuel and maintenance.

No one has explained why we would buy a plane that is so big that we are going to have to rip out and replace hundreds of runways, ramps, and hangars around the globe in order to land that plane.

No one has explained why we would not buy the safest possible airplane for our service members.

Perhaps most importantly, no one can explain why we are giving a multibillion-dollar contract to a company that has made no secret of its desire to dismantle our U.S. aerospace industry.

For years, the foreign governments that own Airbus have flooded it with illegal subsidies in order to compete with Boeing. In fact, the A-330 is a result of that subsidized system. The U.S. Trade Representative is so concerned that our Government has accused the EU of unfair trade practices before the World Trade Organization. It makes absolutely no sense to me that we would accuse Europe of illegally subsidizing Airbus and then turn around and award it a $35 billion contract of U.S. taxpayer money. It is especially troubling because the consequences to our national security and our economy will be huge.

A report by the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute shows that Boeing would create at least twice as many American jobs as Airbus. In other words, we stand to lose as many as 14,000 jobs right here in the United States by sending this contract to Airbus. With those jobs that we lose, we lose the knowledge and we lose the expertise that helped us create our global military strength and has made the United States the world leader in aerospace technology. Yet no one has explained why we would let that slip away.

Not only am I very troubled that I haven't been able to get answers to these questions, but this month the Air Force gave us new reason to be concerned. About 2 weeks ago, the Defense Secretary forced out the Air Force Secretary, Michael Wynne, and its Chief of Staff, Michael Moseley, after finding systemic problems in the service that led him to have a serious lack of confidence in their leadership and in their oversight. Mr. Wynne and General Moseley blessed this Airbus contract. Clearly, we in Congress--those who represent the taxpayers of this country--need to look at this deal more closely.

Congress is entrusted by the American people with the responsibility to look out for our taxpayers and to be a check on this administration or any administration. When it is clear that the administration has gone in the wrong direction, we--Congress--have to step in. Now is one of those times. We owe it to our taxpayers and to our service men and women to make sure we buy the right plane. This contract is too important.

So I am here this afternoon on the floor of the Senate to implore my colleagues to stand with me and continue to demand that the Air Force justify this decision.

I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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