Senator to consider pursuing bill to keep military equipment production in U.S.

After hearing aerospace suppliers' complaints Tuesday about the Air Force's awarding of a $35 billion refueling tanker contract to the parent company of Airbus, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said she would consider pursuing legislation aimed at changing procurement laws to keep production of military equipment in the United States.

Murray said a possible answer might be legislation for the aerospace industry similar to the Jones Act, which limits the amount of repairs and construction on U.S.-flagged ships that can be done overseas. But Murray's Capitol Hill office said the senator has no plans to propose a bill at this time.

"We need to have a serious conversation as a nation about what we lose," Murray was quoted as saying by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "Not many are thinking deeply about the military security we are giving away." Some critics at Tuesday's gathering raised concerns about whether foreign manufacturers would be required to operate under the same rules as U.S. suppliers.

Murray was scheduled to meet with labor leaders and workers at a rally Wednesday afternoon to protest the Air Force's decision.