Congressman weighs options to undo refueling tanker contract

House Armed Services ranking member Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., may attempt to use the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill to overturn Friday's Air Force decision to award a contract worth up to $40 billion to Northrop Grumman Corp. and EADS, the European consortium behind Airbus, for a new fleet of aerial refueling tankers. Hunter, a fierce "Buy America" advocate who has sharply criticized the contract, is weighing his legislative options, a spokesman for committee Republicans said Monday. Options may include attaching language to the authorization bill to strengthen laws governing the amount of foreign content in U.S. defense hardware, or a provision prohibiting the Pentagon from awarding contracts to overseas-based companies that receive subsidies from foreign governments, as the Airbus maker does from several European countries, the spokesman said.

Hunter, whose protectionist efforts are typically met with strong opposition in the Senate, included a provision on foreign-subsidized firms in the House's version of the fiscal 2006 authorization bill, but it was dropped during conference negotiations. Hunter is trying to determine "what makes the most logical sense and what we can get others to coalesce around," his spokesman said.

The contract award to Northrop Grumman/EADS dealt a stunning blow to Boeing Co., the domestic aerospace giant that has had a lock on building Air Force tankers for over 50 years. Given Boeing's clout on Capitol Hill, Hunter could win support from several Armed Services Committee members, including Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., whose district includes the headquarters of Boeing's defense business. An Akin spokesman did not know whether his boss had discussed the issue with Hunter, but said the two lawmakers are "of a similar mind on this." At least two committee Democrats -- Terrorism Subcommittee Chairman Adam Smith of Washington, and Rep. Nancy Boyda of Kansas -- have criticized the award, but it is not clear if they would support Hunter's efforts. Boeing planned to build the tanker at its plant in Everett, Wash., near Smith's district. The firm would have used its plant in Wichita, Kan., west of Boyda's district, for final assembly.

But Hunter would likely encounter stiff resistance from many lawmakers -- including some traditional allies, such as Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee ranking member Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. Airbus plans to build the tankers at a plant in Mobile, Ala. The company says will employ 5,000 people across the state. Hunter's committee colleague, Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., has praised the contract, saying the Mobile plant is expected to employ people from his northwest Florida district about 60 miles away.

Hunter plans to coordinate his efforts with appropriators, his spokesman added. His strongest allies on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee may be Reps. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., whose district includes Boeing's Everett plant, and Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., whose district includes Wichita. Dicks said Friday that he believes the Air Force contract decision would be met with "real skepticism among the defense related committees in Congress." Meanwhile, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who sits on the Senate Defense Appropriations panel, has said she looks forward to "asking tough questions."

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who also sits on the defense subcommittee, would be expected to fight any effort to use the Defense spending bill to kill the Northrop Grumman/EADS contract.