U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) announced today that he will question top Pentagon officials about the Air Force tanker decision at a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing next week.
On Tuesday, March 11, a joint hearing of the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee and Air and Land Forces Subcommittee will hear testimony from top Pentagon officials including John J. Young, Jr., Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. This will be the first time House Armed Services Committee members -- including Larsen -- will have the opportunity to question Pentagon officials directly since the Air Force announced their decision to award the $35 billion tanker deal to the European company Airbus.
On Wednesday, March 12, Larsen and Members of the House Armed Services Committee will participate in a Members-only briefing with the U.S. Air Force on their selection process for the tanker. Larsen released the following statement today:
“As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I look forward to raising concerns with the Defense Department about their decision to choose the subsidized European firm Airbus over Boeing, an American company with over 70 years of experience building planes for our United States military.
“The Air Force and Defense Department need to respond to concerns that the selection process was unfairly weighted in favor of the subsidized company Airbus. Based on what I have learned to date, it looks like the Air Force is trying to buy a different tanker than the one they asked for.
“Furthermore, I have serious concerns about the implications of this decision for U.S. trade policy. The U.S. government has determined that subsides to Airbus are a clear violation of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. President Bush himself has said that European nations should end their subsidies to Airbus and instructed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick to “pursue all options to end these subsidies.”
“While this case is still pending before the WTO, another branch of the Bush administration is sending a conflicting message by moving to reward European governments to the tune of $35 billion for violating WTO rules.
“We should not ask American taxpayers to foot the bill for European subsidies. It is my understanding that Airbus’s airframe, the A330/A340, was developed using $5 billion in taxpayer subsidies compared to zero taxpayer dollars used to develop the Boeing airframe, the 767. That would be a 700% return on investment for European taxpayers.
“The Bush administration is on a collision course with itself on this issue, and needs to explain to Congress how they plan to avoid a crash.”
