Boeing Won't Give Up on AF Tanker
Is there still hope for Boeing?
Air Force tanker project clears panel May 1, 2008(Seattle P-I) WASHINGTON -- A team of Northrop Grumman and EADS cleared a key legislative hurdle when lawmakers announced Thursday that the Senate Armed Services Committee has approved startup funding for a new fleet of Air Force tankers.
"This is great news for the tanker project," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., a committee member whose state stands to gain employment from the program. EADS plans to build a tanker-manufacturing facility in Mobile, Ala.
Supporters of The Boeing Co.'s losing bid to build the planes have said they will try to halt the program through congressional action.
But Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate committee, said Thursday that he would not support any such action before the Government Accountability Office rules in mid-June on the merits of an appeal from Boeing. Chicago-based Boeing claims that the Air Force erroneously selected the EADS team for the multibillion-dollar program.
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