 "As a company headquartered in
Illinois, Boeing has been a leader in the aerospace industry since
the early part of the 20th century. Contracts such as this one are
vital to our state's economy and to Illinois workers. I urge
Congress to hold the Pentagon accountable for the flawed
decision-making process, and ask that they work to appeal it," said
Blagojevich.In the letter, the governors of Illinois,
Connecticut, Washington, Wisconsin and Kansas offered to work with
congressional leadership and the Bush administration to ensure that
the tanker selection process is transparent and fair so that the
contract award goes to the American company that best supports the
U.S. military as well as the workers and taxpayers who are the
foundation of our national security.
In their letter, the governors point out that serious concerns
have been raised about the Department of Defense contract process,
its assumptions and analyses, and the final decision-making that led
to the initial tanker contract award. A first look suggests that the
Pentagon's contract award and subsequent reports ignore that Boeing
and the EADS/Northrop team were assigned identical ratings across
all five evaluation factors: (1) mission capability, (2) risk, (3)
past performance, (4) cost and (5) integrated fleet aerial refueling
assessment. The governors assert that an objective review of the
data as measured against the Air Force's request for proposals shows
that Boeing had the better offering in terms of the most probable
life cycle costs, lower risk and better capability.
Boeing is the world's leading aerospace company and the largest
manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined.
Headquartered in Chicago, Boeing employs more than 150,000 people
across the United States and in 70 countries.
Under Blagojevich's leadership, Illinois is experiencing a strong
economic climate, even as the nation is experiencing an economic
slowdown. Since January 2004, Illinois has added 185,300 jobs, which
is more new jobs than any other Midwestern state. Illinois is the
nation's fourth-largest industrial state, with value-added
manufacturing reaching $105 billion. The $71 billion gross output of
the 16,100 manufacturers operating in Illinois represents 13.2
percent of the Illinois gross state product.
A copy of the letter follows:
Dear Congressional
Leaders:
Several weeks ago,
the nation's governors met with the President at the White House and
discussed, among other issues, the slowing economy and our shared
interest in getting and keeping our citizens in good wage jobs to
help stabilize the economies within our respective states. In the
short time since that meeting, we have seen the largest monthly loss
of jobs in five years, with the Department of Labor reporting 63,000
jobs lost in February alone.
Against this
backdrop, the United States Air Force announced that it planned to
award an estimated $40 billion contract for aerial refueling tankers
to the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Company (EADS) and
associate Northrop Grumman Corporation instead of the Boeing Company
– an American firm poised to deliver a truly American product with
the support of American suppliers from around the United States. If
implemented, the decision would result in a net loss of potential
American jobs, billions of dollars in tax revenue, an even weaker
U.S. dollar, and a larger trade imbalance – all of which contribute
to further endangering the long-term health of our economy. The Air
Force's decision to award to a foreign-dominated conglomerate the
largest Department of Defense (DOD) contract in decades, without
considering the economic and trade repercussions for this nation, is
disrespectful to the American people.
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We commend Boeing for appealing the Air Force's decision to the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) – an action never before
taken by the company. Serious and troubling concerns have been
raised about the DOD process, its assumptions and analyses, and the
final decision-making that led to this initial contract award. A
first look suggests that the Pentagon's contract award and
subsequent reports ignore the reality that Boeing and the
EADS/Northrop team were assigned identical ratings across all five
evaluations factors: (1) Mission Capability; (2) Risk; (3) Past
Performance; (4) Cost/Price; and (5) Integrated Fleet Aerial
Refueling Assessment. Moreover, an objective review of the data as
measured against the Air Force's Request for Proposals shows that
Boeing had the better offering in terms of Most Probable Life Cycle
Costs, lower risk and better capability. We believe that a thorough,
careful review by Congress and other authorities will ultimately
confirm these initial findings.
Handing over the
tanker contract to a conglomerate dominated by a foreign company
carries additional risks and problems not measured in the
source-selection process. As the commanders-in-chiefs of the Air
National Guard units in our respective states, we find it
problematic that the Air Force failed to adequately consider the
size of our nation's basing assets. Boeing answered the Air Force's
call in the Request for Proposals appropriately by submitting in its
bid a medium sized tanker. By selecting EADS, the Air Force
apparently ignored its own request and undermined its own base
infrastructure with an aircraft too large to utilize some Guard and
Air Force hangars. The Pentagon should have considered these
military construction requirements and other ancillary costs to the
taxpayers.
Boeing has been a
leader in the aerospace industry since its beginning in the early
part of the twentieth century, supported by innovative and
technologically superior supply companies and dedicated workers
throughout our states. For Boeing and other U.S. companies to
continue to lead the global aerospace industry and create good
paying jobs for Americans, Congress must hold the Pentagon
accountable for flawed contract decisions. We stand ready to work
with you and the Administration to ensure that the tanker selection
process is truly transparent and fair so that the contract award
goes to the American company that best supports the U.S. military as
well as the workers and taxpayers that are the foundation of our
national security.
[Text from file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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