Andrew P. Hunter: “But let me register my objection to the Rules Committee's determination that one of the amendments that I had offered…”

“But let me register my objection to the Rules Committee's determination that one of the amendments that I had offered was not made in order, and that is the amendment that goes to the so-called tanker deal. Let me just explain to my colleagues that this tanker deal involves hundreds of thousands of American jobs. The Air Force has determined that the European competitor has won the tanker contest. This buy could ultimately be in excess of some $30 billion, so there are enormous numbers of American jobs at stake. As we went through the markup process, the Members on both sides indicated that they didn't want to try to pass something that would in some way prejudice the GAO protest which is being undertaken right now. But let me tell you as a guy who has looked at the industrial base and the fact that big pieces of our industrial base are moving offshore at a rapid rate, at some point that is going to affect our ability to defend this country. This is a huge deal. It is a huge transfer of high-paying aerospace jobs, basically a massive economic stimulus package for Europe.”