DeLauro Praises Improvement of Defense Contract Bidding Process

Washington, DC— Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) lauded the passage of an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which will require the Department of Defense to conduct an assessment of any unfair competitive advantage and take into consideration those unfair advantages when awarding contracts for major defense acquisition programs.

This amendment will ensure that the bidding competition for the KC-X tanker contract, which is being bid for by the American company Boeing and the European-owned Airbus/ EADS, which received almost $6 billion in illegal subsidies from European governments, is fair. The amendment is co-sponsored with Congresswoman DeLauro by Congressmen Jay Inslee (WA-01), Todd Tiahrt (KS-04), Rick Larsen (WA-02), Mike Turner (OH-03), and Russ Caranhan (MO-03).

"This was an easy call, a no-brainer. We could give a $35 billion contract for the next generation tanker to an American company, Boeing, creating an estimated 62,000 to 70,000 U.S. jobs over the life of the contract, or we give the contract to a European company, Airbus/ EADS thus creating tens of thousands of jobs in Europe," said Congresswoman DeLauro. "With this amendment's inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Pentagon will now be required to take the $6 billion in illegal subsidies Airbus/ EADS received into account during the bidding process for the new tankers. Supporting this amendment means supporting American jobs, and I am very pleased with its passage."