SECOND REGULAR SESSION

House Concurrent Resolution No. 43

94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

5603L.01I

      Whereas, The Boeing Company Integrated Defense Systems (Boeing), based in St. Louis, Missouri, has been building and maintaining refueling tankers for the United States Air Force (USAF) for 50 years and has more experience building tankers than any other company in the world; and

            Whereas, Boeing has proposed the KC-767 as a replacement for the KC-135 Stratotanker, an American-made tanker that has been in use since 1958; and

            Whereas, the KC-767 meets or exceeds all USAF requirements, including range and fuel offload capabilities, mission flexibility for carrying patients, passengers, and material; and

            Whereas, the KC-767 will interoperate with 99% of USAF's existing equipment, saving an estimated $4 billion in lifecycle costs, and will operate from existing infrastructure throughout the world saving the expense of costly runway, tarmac, and hangar expansion required for a larger plane; and

            Whereas, the KC-767 would have created or sustained 44,000 jobs in 40 states with 300 suppliers; and

            Whereas, on February 29, 2008, the USAF announced the selection of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), a company based in France, and its partner Northrop Grumman Corporation, for a contract to replace aerial refueling tankers, a contract that could reach in excess of $100 billion in value; and

            Whereas, the U.S. Government has a WTO lawsuit pending against EADS regarding illegal subsidies that have caused great harm to U.S. Industry; and

            Whereas, EADS routinely sells military products and technology to countries on the U.S. Embargo list; and

            Whereas, the EADS tanker is wasteful and bad for the environment as it burns 24% more fuel and pumps 30% greater emissions into our environment than the KC-767; and

            Whereas, EADS and Northrop Grumman have never jointly built a tanker aircraft or delivered an air-to-air refueling boom, while Boeing has built and upgraded over 2,000 operational tankers and delivered over 1,800 air-to-air refueling booms; and

            Whereas, given the current state of the U.S. economy, taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund the economic growth of European countries, while America loses 44,000 quality jobs associated with the KC-767; and

            Whereas, relying on a foreign supplier of military equipment is unwise and not in the national security interest of the country:

            Now, therefore, be it resolved that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-fourth General Assembly, Second Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby urge the United States Air Force to reconsider its decision to replace the KC-135 refueling tanker with a tanker supplied by a foreign company that is substantially built in foreign countries; and

            Be it further resolved that the General Assembly strongly urges the President of the United States and Congress to immediately and vigorously investigate the proposed outsourcing of taxpayer-funded jobs, and its impact on the U.S. economy and the procurement process that made possible this transfer of billions of dollars to foreign workers; and

            Be it further resolved that the General Assembly urge the President of the United States and Congress to investigate and thoroughly review the benefits, costs, and national security risks associated with contracting for the design and construction of high-technology military equipment and systems in and by foreign nations which may not always share U.S. interests, objectives, and missions; and

            Be it further resolved that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare properly inscribed copies of this resolution for the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force, and each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation.

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