For Immediate Release:

Friday, February 29, 2008

Today I stood with the men and women of Boeing in Everett as the Air Force announced that it would be outsourcing a $40 billion contract to build aerial refueling tankers to the European company Airbus. Boeing workers were shocked, angry, and wanted answers – and so do I.

Awarding this critical military contract to Airbus, a company that is heavily subsidized by European governments, is a threat to our economic, military, and trade security. At a time when families are struggling and unemployment is rising at home, it is unacceptable that we are investing in European jobs instead of creating 44,000 new jobs here. At a time when we are engaged in two wars, we need to ask ourselves whether we should place war-fighting tools and technology in foreign hands. And as we continue to compete in a global market, we need to ask why we are giving $40 billion to a company that our government has brought a World Trade Organization (WTO) illegal subsidies case against.

Details

In the days, weeks, and months ahead I will work relentlessly to get answers and will explore every option available to me to right this wrong.

Sign the Petition to Denounce the Air Force's Decision