U.S. jobs once again shipped overseas

Posted by Carla Axtman on March 3, 2008

Every time a company moves jobs overseas Jeff Merkley thinks about the day his father’s mill shut down and the instability and uncertainty it cause for his family and so many others.

It is particularly infuriating when our own government in Washington D.C. fails to hire American workers to do the job.

Word came down on Friday from the U.S. Air Force that updates to their tanker fleet will be built in Europe, not the U.S.

Northrop Grumman-European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. beat out rival U.S. competitor Boeing for a $30 billion to $40 billion contract to begin replacing the Air Force's aging fleet of aerial tankers.

This contract will be one of the largest military contracts for a decade. It's another example of U.S. manufacturing jobs headed out of the country. This contract should be creating jobs in the U.S., not in France.

America's defense assets should be built here at home.

The Pentagon needs to make the best procurement decisions for the security of America. But it seems hard to believe that one of the premier aerospace companies in the world, Boeing, couldn't meet the needs of the Air Force.

Jeff Merkley is the only candidate in this race that has a plan to strengthen our economy and create jobs here at home.

We need leaders in Washington who will fight hard to ensure that Americans have good paying jobs.

Jeff Merkley is ready to take on that fight in the U.S. Senate for Oregon.