Gov. Gregoire�s statement on Air Force tanker decision

For Immediate Release: July 9, 2008

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire issued the following statement on today�s decision by the U.S. Air Force to rebid its tanker contract:

�Today�s announcement by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is good news for Washington state, Boeing, its workers and the nation. The Department of Defense will rebid the tanker contract using the same criteria for both bidders. I believe Boeing should have been awarded the contract all along based on the Air Force�s criteria, and I believe the tanker contract should have been awarded to Boeing today.

�Last month, the Government Accountability Office all but confirmed what was suspected from day one � that the Air Force made a mistake when it decided to give away thousands of American jobs and sensitive military technology to a foreign country.

�The GAO report must be taken very seriously. The Department of Defense must conduct a fair and proper process in close consultation with Congress. Specifically, there should be a thorough review of the 40-year lifecycle costs for the Airbus 330 and Boeing 767, including fuel, maintenance and personnel costs, and the expense of retrofitting runways and hangars. I believe that if these and other factors are considered as they should have been from the start, Boeing will succeed in winning the tanker contract because it�s the best, most efficient and cost-effective bid.

�I thank the members of our state�s congressional delegation for their leadership on this matter. They have been tenacious in taking on the Air Force and pressing for transparency throughout this process.�


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