[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 38 (Thursday, March 6, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H1399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1500
                       AIR FORCE TANKER DECISION

  (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, even before the Air Force announced its 
decision on a new tanker, serious questions were being raised about the 
fairness of the process and the justification of the outcome. Barely a 
week later, it is becoming increasingly clear that the United States 
Air Force has called an air strike on U.S. jobs, U.S. companies, and a 
level playing field. That is grounds for a reduction in rank. You can't 
tell Boeing you want a 767-size tanker, then change your mind, and then 
deny them the ability to fairly compete with the Triple-7. As it 
stands, the Airbus won't even fit in our hangars. Maybe the biggest 
reason the Air Force has an aging tanker fleet is because it has a 
prehistoric process that ought to be rendered extinct like the 
dinosaurs.
  This is about fairness, this is about selecting the right company to 
keep America strong, and it so happens the right company is Boeing. 
Boeing offers the best people, the best plane, and the best deal, but 
the Air Force shot them down with a botched decision that outsources 
our national defense to foreign companies. If they won't admit their 
mistake, Congress should do it for them. The U.S. tanker decision 
should be grounded because it is unsafe to fly.

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