Dennis Moore: “the Air Force's recent decision to award a contract to Airbus to replace our current fleet of aerial refueling tankers…”

“the Air Force's recent decision to award a contract to Airbus to replace our current fleet of aerial refueling tankers is a reckless one. Americans are experiencing job cuts, a credit crisis, foreclosures on their homes, and rising foods and energy prices. Just weeks after this Congress passed a $168 billion economic stimulus package to address these issues, the Air Force assumes it will simply appropriate $40 billion for an Airbus fleet of tankers, creating high-paying jobs in Europe. American workers have built and provided our tanker fleet for more than 40 years. Their experience makes them second to none when it comes to meeting this need. It is beyond belief that the Air Force will reward American know-how and hard work by offshoring defense-related jobs and shrinking the U.S. industrial base even further. This decision is not in the interests of the United States. I urge my colleagues to see the larger picture here. Congress has a responsibility to look out for all of the issues pertaining to this contract and the threat it poses to American workers.”