Help Preserve a Key Victory for Taxpayers & Our Troops!

CAGW* | June 1, 2008 |

Filed Under Culture of Corruption, General Politics, Military / Soldiers, Our Government

If you haven’t already, I urgently need you to tell your
U.S. Representative and Senators today to set aside political and
parochial interests and instead support the interests of taxpayers and
our troops
http://www.cagw.org/site/R?i=6ERPeIRAqOR50uKykYWYjQ..

As you may remember, several years ago I asked all of our leading CAGW
members to participate in a Herculean struggle against the infamous
Boeing-U.S. Air Force tanker lease boondoggle, and together we
blocked it.

This victory not only saved taxpayers $23.5 billion, it also uncovered
widespread cronyism and corruption in the defense procurement process.

But now, despite the ensuing scandal, a massive federal fine, and even
criminal penalties for some of those involved, The Boeing Company is
again trying to use its political connections in Congress to secure
the Air Force’s refueling tanker contract — a contract Boeing
just LOST in an open and competitive bidding process that the company
originally praised!

Let me explain.

The Air Force recently announced that it would award the contract for
its next generation of aerial refueling tankers to Northrop Grumman
Corp. The competitive vetting process used by the Air Force is a
vast improvement over the originally proposed tanker lease deal, which
was crafted by members of Congress behind closed doors without any
competitive review or debate in order to subsidize Boeing’s 767
production line as the company’s profits sagged in the wake of
9/11.

In truth, the tanker lease deal was nothing more than a corporate
welfare giveaway to one well-heeled, politically influential company
at the expense of American taxpayers. Then-Senator Phil Gramm
(R-Texas) called it the worst pork-barrel handout he had seen in his
22 years on Capitol Hill!

The proposed deal also proved to be a prime example of cronyism and
corruption. Subsequent federal investigations led to jail terms
for Boeing’s Chief Financial Officer and the Air Force
procurement official who negotiated the deal, the resignation of other
top Boeing executives, and a fine of more than $600 million for the
company.

By contrast, the latest tanker decision was based on an open and
transparent bidding process. The Air Force ranked each bid on
five criteria and Northrop Grumman won over Boeing on four out of the
five and tied in one category. According to published reports,
both sides praised the fairness of the competition before the award
was announced and agreed that this was the most rigorous acquisition
process in the Department of Defense’s history. The
Government Accountability Office (GAO) is now reviewing the contract
award, with a ruling on its propriety expected by June 19.

Yet, Boeing is again marshalling its congressional allies to try to
secure through political favoritism what it couldn’t win in a
free and fair competition! Help us stop them!
http://www.cagw.org/site/R?i=_VSV_BslmqCbWtGfeNRhpg..

Boeing’s lobbyists and congressional friends are wrapping
themselves in the flag and claiming that, in the name of
“patriotism,” Congress should overturn the Air Force
decision because Northrop’s prime subcontractor, the European
Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., is a foreign company. The fact
is that in today’s global economy companies like Boeing sell to
European and other foreign governments all the time, their companies
sell to us, and most U.S. defense systems, including those built by
Boeing, contain foreign-made parts.

What’s more, despite Boeing’s propaganda to the contrary,
the Northrop tanker will be assembled by American workers and
outfitted with sensitive technology right here at home in Mobile,
Alabama.

As the Wall Street Journal stated, “What’s really going on is a
familiar scrum for federal cash, with politicians…using
nationalism as cover for their pork-barreling.”

Among those Boeing allies screaming the loudest about the Air Force
decision on Capitol Hill are House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee
Chairman John Murtha (D-Pa.), one of the most notorious backroom
dealmakers in Congress who was voted the “2007 Porker of the
Year” in CAGW’s online poll, and Senator Patty Murray
(D-Wash.), whose “bona fides” on defense and national
security include earmarking $1.7 million in Defense Budget funds to
“improve the shelf life of vegetables.”

While the $35 billion cost to taxpayers of the tanker contract is
significant, more is at stake in this battle than dollars and
cents. As Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition,
Technology, and Logistics John Young said last month, allowing
Congress to preempt the GAO ruling or override the Air Force’s
decision “would open up slippery slopes and dangerous
precedents,” where members of Congress will simply select their
favored pet contractors, regardless of the cost to taxpayers or the
impact on our Armed Forces.

Please help us win this victory a second time. Tell your
Representative and Senators today to oppose any congressional
intervention that would preempt the GAO review of the tanker contract
award or overturn it based on political or parochial motives!
http://www.cagw.org/site/R?i=0sIWxSat8JIEK2I0jKThGQ..

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Schatz
President

P.S. American servicemen and women are currently flying in
tankers that date back to the early years of the Cold War. All
the political maneuvering now underway in Congress just delays the Air
Force in reequipping our forces with the newest and best
technology. I urge you to tell your Representative and Senators
to put the interests of taxpayers and American troops ahead of the
“special interests” of one politically influential
company.
http://www.cagw.org/site/R?i=NuPu42sgu-kIYJDUfUEEnQ..

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