Press Releases

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Defense Level Playing Field Act (HR 6540), introduced by U.S. Representatives Jay Inslee (WA-01) and Rick Larsen (WA-02), to force the Department of Defense to take into account the billions of dollars in illegal subsidies that Airbus has received from European governments when it awards the contract for the next generation of aerial refueling tankers.  The measure passed on a bipartisan vote of 325 to 23.

“Our national security and thousands of jobs are at stake,” said Rep. Larsen. “This bill will level the playing field for Boeing workers – the best aerospace workers in the world – and help protect American taxpayers from getting stuck with the bill for a tanker fueled by billions of dollars of illegal subsidies.”

The language of the Defense Level Playing Field Act was adopted by the House of Representatives as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (HR 5136) in May of this year.  However, the Senate has failed to act on this legislation, and the House was forced to consider a new defense bill that did not include any policy measures that could slow consideration of the bill in the Senate, including the Inslee-Larsen provision relating to tankers.  This bill reinforces the support of the House of Representatives for considering the impact of illegal subsidies and gives the Senate another opportunity to act on this important legislation.

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