Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
May 16, 2008 It also orders Air Force review
By Eric Rosenberg, P-I Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The Air Force's decision to award a multibillion-dollar aerial tanker contract to a team of Northrop Grumman and EADS cleared another legislative hurdle Thursday when a House committee approved startup funds for the new fleet.
In a sop to The Boeing Co., the losing bidder for the tanker contract, the panel also voted to require the Air Force "to review" its choice of the EADS team if the World Trade Organization rules that either company has received illegal government subsidies.
On Feb. 29, the Air Force rejected a bid from Chicago-based Boeing to build a fleet of new refueling tankers and instead selected a team of Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman and Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.
Boeing's supporters in Congress, looking for ways to derail the Air Force decision, have seized on the pending WTO subsidy case to bolster their claim that the contract award is flawed.
The House Armed Services Committee said that any WTO ruling that Airbus has received government subsidies would require the Air Force to decide whether those subsidies gave the EADS team an unfair advantage over Boeing.
If the Air Force concludes that that was the case, then the service must "find a way" to remove that advantage "to ensure the fairness of the process."
The WTO, the Geneva-based international organization that adjudicates trade disputes between nations, could rule as early as this summer on whether either company has received illegal subsidies.
The U.S. government accuses European governments of providing subsidies to Airbus, while European governments accuse the U.S. of similar actions on behalf of Boeing.
The tanker funds -- $831 million -- were included as part of the House committee's military spending proposal for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The panel approved the spending plan shortly after midnight after a daylong debate on military policies and projects.
The Senate Armed Services Committee previously approved startup funds for the tanker fleet.
Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., a Boeing supporter who is on the House committee, said the panel has taken "some steps to address the Air Force's troubling tanker decision.
"However, more must be done."
Randy Belote, a Northrop Grumman spokesman, said the House committee action was a victory for supporters of the KC-45 tanker, whose design is based on the Airbus A330 airliner and is to be assembled in Mobile, Ala.
"Northrop Grumman appreciates the work of the Alabama congressional delegation and members of the House Armed Services Committee who supported the integrity of the defense acquisition process," Belote said.
"By not taking any actions that would delay the execution of the tanker contract awarded after a proper and comprehensive competition, the nation can move more quickly to build the new U.S. Air Force KC-45 tanker," he said.
Tim Neale, a Boeing spokesman, took the long view, observing that "the legislative budget process has a long way to go before it is concluded."
"We are certainly encouraged by the concerns being expressed by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle about the recent tanker contract award," Neale added. Congressional "members are making proposals to address those issues."
The next legislative hurdle for the Air Force contract is the congressional appropriations process, where lawmakers actually dispense money for weapons programs.
Boeing has formally protested the tanker award to the Government Accountability Office -- the investigative arm of Congress -- which is due to report back by mid-June on the results of its investigation into the Air Force decision.
May 16, 2008 It also orders Air Force review
By Eric Rosenberg, P-I Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The Air Force's decision to award a multibillion-dollar aerial tanker contract to a team of Northrop Grumman and EADS cleared another legislative hurdle Thursday when a House committee approved startup funds for the new fleet.
In a sop to The Boeing Co., the losing bidder for the tanker contract, the panel also voted to require the Air Force "to review" its choice of the EADS team if the World Trade Organization rules that either company has received illegal government subsidies.
On Feb. 29, the Air Force rejected a bid from Chicago-based Boeing to build a fleet of new refueling tankers and instead selected a team of Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman and Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.
Boeing's supporters in Congress, looking for ways to derail the Air Force decision, have seized on the pending WTO subsidy case to bolster their claim that the contract award is flawed.
The House Armed Services Committee said that any WTO ruling that Airbus has received government subsidies would require the Air Force to decide whether those subsidies gave the EADS team an unfair advantage over Boeing.
If the Air Force concludes that that was the case, then the service must "find a way" to remove that advantage "to ensure the fairness of the process."
The WTO, the Geneva-based international organization that adjudicates trade disputes between nations, could rule as early as this summer on whether either company has received illegal subsidies.
The U.S. government accuses European governments of providing subsidies to Airbus, while European governments accuse the U.S. of similar actions on behalf of Boeing.
The tanker funds -- $831 million -- were included as part of the House committee's military spending proposal for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The panel approved the spending plan shortly after midnight after a daylong debate on military policies and projects.
The Senate Armed Services Committee previously approved startup funds for the tanker fleet.
Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., a Boeing supporter who is on the House committee, said the panel has taken "some steps to address the Air Force's troubling tanker decision.
"However, more must be done."
Randy Belote, a Northrop Grumman spokesman, said the House committee action was a victory for supporters of the KC-45 tanker, whose design is based on the Airbus A330 airliner and is to be assembled in Mobile, Ala.
"Northrop Grumman appreciates the work of the Alabama congressional delegation and members of the House Armed Services Committee who supported the integrity of the defense acquisition process," Belote said.
"By not taking any actions that would delay the execution of the tanker contract awarded after a proper and comprehensive competition, the nation can move more quickly to build the new U.S. Air Force KC-45 tanker," he said.
Tim Neale, a Boeing spokesman, took the long view, observing that "the legislative budget process has a long way to go before it is concluded."
"We are certainly encouraged by the concerns being expressed by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle about the recent tanker contract award," Neale added. Congressional "members are making proposals to address those issues."
The next legislative hurdle for the Air Force contract is the congressional appropriations process, where lawmakers actually dispense money for weapons programs.
Boeing has formally protested the tanker award to the Government Accountability Office -- the investigative arm of Congress -- which is due to report back by mid-June on the results of its investigation into the Air Force decision.