[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13941]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        LET REGULAR ORDER PREVAIL ON AIR FORCE TANKER SELECTION

  (Mr. BONNER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, today one of our colleagues introduced the 
KC-X Recompete Act, and its message is clear: If the warfighter wants a 
new tanker to replace its aging fleet anytime soon, it has but one 
choice, the Boeing KC-767. This act would tell the warfighter to take 
the 767; take it or leave it, or face years of delay if you have to 
have a new competition.
  Boeing's 767, mind you, is judged second best to the more capable, 
more modern, Northrop aircraft, an aircraft that I am proud would be 
built in my home State of Alabama.
  Yes, the GAO noted procedural errors in the source selection process, 
but it did not rule on the merits of these two aircraft. And there is 
no equivocation in terms of which plane the Air Force wants and 
desperately needs, the KC-45.
  Some have tried to preempt regular order and take this decision away 
from the warfighter. Let's not preempt the voice of the men and women 
who will take this plane into harm's way. We owe them that much.

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