[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 2, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      DUAL PROCUREMENT OF TANKERS

  The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. 
Rogers) for 2 minutes.
  Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
  I rise today to talk about what I think is the most important issue 
in America, and that is jobs, specifically something that this 
administration can do quickly to help alleviate our jobs problem. Many 
people in this country recognize that there has been a debate in 
Congress for the last few years about how to replace our aging tanker 
fleet in the Air Force. We have tankers that are over 50 years old and 
need to be replaced now. We have had a competition for the contract to 
replace those tankers ongoing for years that has been nothing but 
bureaucratic.
  What I would like to urge the President to do is instruct his Defense 
Department to consider something that our late colleague Mr. Murtha 
supported, and that was dual procurement of these tankers. We can take 
the two major prime contractors, Boeing and Northrop Grumman, and allow 
both of them to proceed with tanker production to do a couple things: 
One, to immediately have an injection of jobs into the country, a 
bigger injection than we would have had by sole source procurement, but 
also we would more rapidly then get the fleet of tankers replaced.
  Under the current construct, it would take 40 years. I don't think 
anybody wants the warfighter to be having to fly 80- and 90-year-old 
tankers. I understand that the Air Force would need its procurement 
budget plussed up because they currently are expecting only to be able 
to afford 15 tankers per year. I think the President could take some of 
the stimulus funds, which were ostensibly to be used for job creation, 
move that to the Air Force's budget so that we could, instead of having 
15 per year, have 24 per year, which would allow each company to 
produce 12 tankers per year.
  This would create an immediate influx of new jobs not just in the 
tanker procurement, but also in the surrounding supplier industries and 
in the communities. This would be an economic engine in the various 
States that this production would take place. It would be good for the 
warfighter, good for our economy, good for American jobs. The President 
ought to do it.
  Mr. President, it is about jobs. I urge you to focus on this issue.

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