[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[House]
[Page 31715]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        THE AIR REFUELING TANKER

  (Mr. TIAHRT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TIAHRT. Madam Speaker, over the past several months, Airbus and 
their congressional allies have been pushing the Pentagon to change the 
requirements for the air refueling tanker so that the French company 
will win the contract. Just last month, the Airbus team sent the 
Department of Defense a clear ultimatum: If you don't change your 
requirements, we won't bid. The Air Force needs an air refueling tanker 
that meets the needs of the warfighter, not the needs of the French.
  Airbus is gambling that the threat of not having a competition will 
force the Air Force to change their requirements, the very same 
requirements that were determined by the Air Force to meet the needs of 
the warfighter. To change them to meet the needs of the competition 
does not serve the interests of our fighting men and women or the 
Nation.
  If Airbus chooses not to offer the tanker in a bid that the Air Force 
needs, then that's their choice, and then the decision will be an easy 
one for the Pentagon. After 7 years of trying to recapitalize the KC-
135 tanker fleet, we know what it takes to ensure that the warfighter 
gets the tanker they need and the taxpayer gets the protections we 
need, even in a sole-source award.
  Our military and American workers shouldn't have to wait any longer 
for the tanker they both deserve: an American tanker built by American 
workers at an American company.

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