Merkley Calls On Air Force to Immediately Reopen Tanker Deal

Boeing Contract Could Create 225 Oregon Jobs

House Speaker Jeff Merkley is calling on the U.S. Air Force to immediately follow recommendations from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and reopen the $40 billion tanker contract that was awarded to European-owned Airbus in February. The GAO found that the Air Force “made a number of significant errors” that could have shifted the contract away from Boeing, costing Oregon 225 jobs and $8 million.

Merkley issued the following statement:

“This was the wrong deal for our families, our workers, and our national security and I urge the Air Force to follow the recommendations from the GAO and immediately reopen the bidding process.

“American tax dollars should not be used to outsource American jobs. Furthermore, we need to invest in American manufacturers to support our military needs. I want America to make smart decisions that are in the best interest of our economy, our families, and our national security before we spend billions of taxpayer dollars.

“We must also immediately strengthen the Buy American Act to ensure that this never happens again, and end the unfair trade agreements that have sent 70,000 Oregon jobs overseas."

In March Merkley began working with Senator Patty Murray of Washington to reverse the tanker deal and announced a plan to investigate the contract and strengthen the Buy American Act to prevent these types of mistakes in the future. [East Oregonian, 3/17/08]

Read more about the Buy American Act.

In 2003, Senator Gordon Smith cast the deciding vote for Senator John McCain's amendment to encourage outsourcing by weakening the Buy American Act and exempting the Department of Defense. The final vote in the U.S. Senate was 50-48. [Senate vote #191, 5/21/03]

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Posted June 18, 2008
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