Two U.S. senators are introducing legislation that would require the Pentagon to take into account illegal foreign subsidies in the U.S. Air Force's ongoing tanker procurement saga.
The two senators, Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said they are proposing the legislation because the World Trade Organization found that EADS, which is the prime contractor for one of the two competing tanker designs, received government subsidies to help fund the development of the Airbus A330. The A330 is the basis of the EADS bid.
"I am proud to introduce this legislation as my first bill in the Senate because I believe when American workers are given a fair chance, they will succeed and produce the best tanker for our men and women in uniform," Moran said in a news release.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed similar legislation in December, 325-23. Moran sponsored that bill before taking office as a senator.
In the Senate, the proposed legislation is co-sponsored by Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Roy Blunt, R- Mo.; Pat Roberts, R-Kan.; and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., - a bipartisan group who all represent states where tanker hopeful Boeing has manufacturing plants.
Those factories might help build Boeing's 767-based tanker aircraft should the company emerge as the winner.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., speaking at Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, said that Boeing too has been found to accept illegal government subsidies by the World Trade Organization. Sessions' district in Alabama would benefit from jobs created by an EADS victory in the tanker contest.
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