[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 100 (Tuesday, June 17, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H5417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      EXPRESSING CONCERN ABOUT THE AIR FORCE TANKER CONTRACT AWARD

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, this week the GAO will rule on the Boeing 
protest of the Air Force acquisition process for the $35 billion award 
to replace the KC-135 air refueling tankers that went to Northrop and a 
European consortium team in February.
  The Department of Labor's employment report for May showed a loss of 
49,000 jobs and an unemployment rate that increased to 5.5 percent--the 
biggest monthly rise since 1986. Yet this contract will not only 
continue but accelerate the erosion of our industrial base and skilled 
workforce. According to an Economic Policy Institute analysis released 
earlier this month, this decision will ground at least 14,000 U.S. 
jobs. Roughly half the parts and labor that go into making Airbus 
tankers will come from overseas.
  Producing the Airbus KC-45 tanker would support about 14,350 U.S. 
jobs per year, while Boeing's proposed tanker would support at least 
twice as many jobs--including those for high-skilled workers 
manufacturing engines in Middletown, Connecticut. Our economy has lost 
nearly 325,000 jobs since the beginning of the year. We should not be 
sending more jobs overseas, outsourcing our technological base. We 
should be creating jobs at home, supporting local innovation, and 
investing in our economy.

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