Posted on 03/05/2008 1:15:16 PM PST by pissant
House Armed Services ranking member Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., may attempt to use the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill to overturn Friday's Air Force decision to award a contract worth up to $40 billion to Northrop Grumman Corp. and EADS, the European consortium behind Airbus, for a new fleet of aerial refueling tankers. Hunter, a fierce "Buy America" advocate who has sharply criticized the contract, is weighing his legislative options, a spokesman for committee Republicans said Monday. Options may include attaching language to the authorization bill to strengthen laws governing the amount of foreign content in U.S. defense hardware, or a provision prohibiting the Pentagon from awarding contracts to overseas-based companies that receive subsidies from foreign governments, as the Airbus maker does from several European countries, the spokesman said.
Hunter, whose protectionist efforts are typically met with strong opposition in the Senate, included a provision on foreign-subsidized firms in the House's version of the fiscal 2006 authorization bill, but it was dropped during conference negotiations. Hunter is trying to determine "what makes the most logical sense and what we can get others to coalesce around," his spokesman said.
The contract award to Northrop Grumman/EADS dealt a stunning blow to Boeing Co., the domestic aerospace giant that has had a lock on building Air Force tankers for over 50 years. Given Boeing's clout on Capitol Hill, Hunter could win support from several Armed Services Committee members, including Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., whose district includes the headquarters of Boeing's defense business. An Akin spokesman did not know whether his boss had discussed the issue with Hunter, but said the two lawmakers are "of a similar mind on this." At least two committee Democrats -- Terrorism Subcommittee Chairman Adam Smith of Washington, and Rep. Nancy Boyda of Kansas -- have criticized the award, but it is not clear if they would support Hunter's efforts. Boeing planned to build the tanker at its plant in Everett, Wash., near Smith's district. The firm would have used its plant in Wichita, Kan., west of Boyda's district, for final assembly.
But Hunter would likely encounter stiff resistance from many lawmakers -- including some traditional allies, such as Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee ranking member Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. Airbus plans to build the tankers at a plant in Mobile, Ala. The company says will employ 5,000 people across the state. Hunter's committee colleague, Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., has praised the contract, saying the Mobile plant is expected to employ people from his northwest Florida district about 60 miles away.
Hunter plans to coordinate his efforts with appropriators, his spokesman added. His strongest allies on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee may be Reps. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., whose district includes Boeing's Everett plant, and Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., whose district includes Wichita. Dicks said Friday that he believes the Air Force contract decision would be met with "real skepticism among the defense related committees in Congress." Meanwhile, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who sits on the Senate Defense Appropriations panel, has said she looks forward to "asking tough questions."
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who also sits on the defense subcommittee, would be expected to fight any effort to use the Defense spending bill to kill the Northrop Grumman/EADS contract.
We need look no farther than OPEC. Strangely enough Henry Kissinger in an odd way developed OPEC, when he advised The Shaw of Iran that he could build his Army by simply raising the price of oil.
History sucks, don't it?
I doubt we can produce one military system totally in this country, does that not give you cause for concern? Do you presume all those foreign entities have our best interests in mind?
Then fight to remove the obsticles that keep the American companies from being able to properly compete, don’t cut off or undercut the military because of it. As it was pointed out, we aren’t even talking about a foreign company really, NG is an American owned company as well.
I have a question (that will probably not be answered)...
What made the Air Force pick the contract they did? Was it bid pricing? Was it superior product? Was it better service? Or was there something nefarious?
Inquiring minds want to know. If there were legitimate reasons for picking Northrop’s deal, then I think we should at least be somehow assured.
Check reply 34.
Yeah - I caught that soon after I made my post. Good info...
The 767 is also slightly Canadian and slightly Italian as well.
China seems to have quite a history with keeping American Off Balance.
History does suck.... you were correct about Iran + OPEC but it was inevitable.
The whole defense procurement process has stunk for decades and is often the personal pork barrel for congressmen who place the “needs” of their district over the military.
I have heard from others who know more about it than me that it has improved some since I got out of the Army but I am sure there is still plenty of monkey business in defense contracts. Too many people who made the decisions went to work for the winners after retirement.
If the decision was made on the merits I can live with it. I don’t have to like it (I live in Washington State)... but I want our guys/gals to get the best piece of equipment they can. Northrop-Grumman (an American company lest we forget) has provided some great platforms in the past and the fact that they are in partnership with EADS is not surprising in a global economy.
Wrong emphasis: "superior" at a 1000, "substantially superior" at 2000, The KC-45A gets better the further is goes out.
It most certainly is factual. He was investigated on the Cunningham and Wilkes cases. He and Cunningham are admittedly long-time friends. He has done fundraisers with Lewis and helped him strongarm the Pentagon on a contract to digitize documents in the Panama Canal Zone for Wilke's company. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, all of these guys are infamous for forcing systems on the Pentagon that they neither need or want, not to mention the DP-2 boondoggle that was funded for 20 years to the tune of billions of dollars and the danged plane still wouldn't fly.
You lie with the dogs, you get fleas, simple as that. You can read all about his sleazy ties here and here.
>>>>You can read all about his sleazy ties here (http://www.beyonddelay.org/files/Hunter%20Profile.pdf) and here (http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/03/05/opinion/commentary/16_06_023_4_06.txt)
>>>>beyonddelay.org
CREW has also launched a new website, www.beyonddelay.org, which details the tainted thirteen’s violations and encourages visitors, through the website, to contact their member of Congress to ask for an investigation of these members.
*********************
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1712341/posts
CREW is one of four George Soros-funded ‘public interest groups’ which endeavors, like the others, to attack and discredit members of the GOP, and along with that agenda, to ensure in what appear to be extreme and underhanded methods, the ‘win’ for democrats by default when a republican takes his fall as a result.
***********************************
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/03/05/opinion/commentary/16_06_023_4_06.txt
Duke’s dirty money stains Hunter, too
By: STANLEY F. ZUBEL
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/23234
CREW FILES DOJ COMPLAINT
>>>attorney Stanley F. Zubel<<<<
We can never know that for sure, of course until after the act. Remember General Dynamics, and Lyndon Johnson? I just feel the more of the production that is on our soil the better.
Your sounces from George Soros organizations is really sad.
Those who don’t like Hunter resent the fact that he is a Viet nam war vet and his son a Marine whith three tours in
Iraq and Afgan.
The resenters are either anti war or arn’t man enough to serve themselves.
1 House Armed Services Committee Website, U.S. House of Representatives, http://armedservices.house.gov/ and http://armedservices.house.gov/oversight_plan.shtml (Exhibit 1).George Soros runs this? Who knew? ROTFLMAO!
2 Almanac of American Politics, National Journal, 2006 (Exhibit 2).It is great that he is a Vet and that his son is in the Marines, I commend and thank them for their service. That however, does not excuse his behavior or his choice of "friends". As far as me being anti-war, you are dead wrong on that one. As an older woman, I am not eligible for the military, but I do my part...I work for an R&D firm that develops life support equipment that keeps our soldiers on the ground and our pilots in the air safe, I work with soldiers every single day. The only resentment I feel towards Hunter is his strongarming of the Pentagon to support equipment that they neither need or want to benefit his donors and that wastes valuable funding that could be put towards needed equipment that could save lives in the field. Yes...that pisses me off. He's an arrogant grandstander and the pure idol worship of him I have seen on this forum is just so over the top it is sickening.3 Tom Hamburger, Walter F. Rouche Jr. and Richard Simon, The Nation; California’s ‘Big 6': Masters of the New Lobbying Game, Los Angeles Times, August 5, 2006 (Exhibit 3).
4 Hark Hosenball, Jamie Reno and Evan Thomas, D.C. Fraud Probe Heats Up, Newsweek, June 5, 2006 (Exhibit 4).<
5 Cunningham Pleads Guilty, Resigns From Congress, San Diego Union Tribune, November 28, 2005 (Exhibit 5).
6 Id.
7 John Marelius, GOP’s Hunter Will Run for Presidency in 2008, San Diego Union- Tribune, October 31, 2006 (Exhibit 6).
8 Roxana Tiron, Hunter is ‘Duke’s’ Friend ‘Till the End, The Hill, March 7, 2006 (Exhibit 7).
9 Id.
10 Otto Kreisher, Rep. Hunter’s Committee to Expand Search For Fishy Cunningham Deals, Copley News Service, April 15, 2006 (Exhibit 8).
You can get help for OCD
Ohhh...you like to insult others...a childish, but typical Hunter supporter trait. Does your mommy know you are playing on her computer? Sorry, but I won’t debate serious issues with you until you grow up. Bye now.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.