Washington, D.C. – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today once again urged members of Congress to resist the impulse to interfere with the outcome of the U.S. Air Force’s aerial refueling tanker contract award while the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is completing its review of the acquisition process.
 

“The Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces have both astutely steered clear of inappropriate meddling in the tanker decision,” said CCAGW President Tom Schatz.  “The GAO expects to finish its work by mid-June, but some members of Congress are on the brink of an ill-advised intrusion in this process.  Allowing the imperial will of Congress to supersede a procurement process that was widely viewed as open and fair sets a dangerous precedent.”

The contract for the new tanker was awarded to Northrop Grumman and its prime subcontractor, EADS in late February, 2008.  The Boeing Company, which was the losing bidder, immediately appealed the decision.  Reps. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) and Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), both of whom are on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and have Boeing facilities in their states, were named Citizens Against Government Waste’s April 2008 Co-Porkers of the Month for threatening to reverse the contract.

“We urge any member of Congress who may be contemplating using the earmarking process to make a mockery of the GAO to think twice about the long-term consequences of his or her actions.  The appropriations process is not now, nor should it ever be, the venue to make these sorts of decisions,” concluded Schatz.    

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.