Norman D. Dicks: “Reclaiming my time, the key thing here is, we are buying an off-the-shelf aircraft. That means no development costs…”

“Reclaiming my time, the key thing here is, we are buying an off-the-shelf aircraft. That means no development costs whatsoever. I asked the chairman of the Boeing Company today what it would cost if we had to develop a new airplane, just in development before we got into production. He said $15 billion to $18 billion, and it would take a number of years to do that. So that option is not good. I do not believe this House wants to buy this airplane from AirBus, so therefore before the 767 line goes down next year, we have got to enter into this agreement, militarize that line, and use it for tankers, which are so critical to our national security.”