Max Baucus: “Americans have important expectations for their public servants. They expect us to act for the common good. They expect…”

“Americans have important expectations for their public servants. They expect us to act for the common good. They expect us to advance our common values. But first and foremost, they expect us to have common sense. Last week's Department of Defense tanker procurement decision raises serious questions of common sense. As some of my colleagues have already discussed, the Defense Department last week awarded a $40 billion contract for a new generation of Air Force tanker aircraft to the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, or EADS, the parent company of Airbus. Receiving this major contract is an enormous victory for the European company. It is a victory for thousands of French, German, and Spanish Airbus workers this contract will employ. It is also a victory for U.S. contractors who will work on the project. Yet I have serious questions about whether this is a victory for good American policy or American common sense. My concern for this deal is not over the Defense Department's procurements. I leave that to my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee. I do not question the merits of one tanker plane over another. I leave that to my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee. But I certainly am concerned and have serious questions about this deal from the perspective of international trade. This responsibility falls to me as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.”