Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest taxpayer watchdog group with over one million members and supporters nationwide.

Dear Reader,

I urgently need you to tell your U.S. Representative and Senators today to set aside political and parochial interests and instead support the interests of taxpayers and our troops!

Let me explain.

The U.S. Air Force recently announced that it would award the contract for its next generation of aerial refueling tankers to Northrop Grumman Corp. The competitive vetting process used by the Air Force is a vast improvement over the originally proposed tanker lease deal with Boeing Corporation, which was crafted by members of Congress behind closed doors without any competitive review or debate in order to subsidize Boeing's 767 production line as the company's profits sagged in the wake of 9/11.

In truth, the tanker lease deal was nothing more than a corporate welfare giveaway to one well-heeled, politically influential company at the expense of American taxpayers. Then-Senator Phil Gramm (R-Texas) called it the worst pork-barrel handout he had seen in his 22 years on Capitol Hill!

The proposed deal also proved to be a prime example of cronyism and corruption. Subsequent federal investigations led to jail terms for Boeing's Chief Financial Officer and the Air Force procurement official who negotiated the deal, the resignation of other top Boeing executives, and a fine of more than $600 million for the company.

By contrast, the latest tanker decision was based on an open and transparent bidding process. The Air Force ranked each bid on five criteria and Northrop Grumman won over Boeing on four out of the five and tied in one category. According to published reports, both sides praised the fairness of the competition before the award was announced and agreed that this was the most rigorous acquisition process in the Department of Defense's history. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is now reviewing the contract award, with a ruling on its propriety expected by June 19.

Yet, Boeing is again marshalling its congressional allies to try to secure through political favoritism what it couldn't win in a free and fair competition! Help us stop them!

Boeing's lobbyists and congressional friends are wrapping themselves in the flag and claiming that, in the name of "patriotism," Congress should overturn the Air Force decision because Northrop's prime subcontractor, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., is a foreign company. The fact is that in today's global economy companies like Boeing sell to European and other foreign governments all the time, their companies sell to us, and most U.S. defense systems, including those built by Boeing, contain foreign-made parts.

What's more, despite Boeing's propaganda to the contrary, the Northrop tanker will be assembled by American workers and outfitted with sensitive technology right here at home in Mobile, Alabama.

As the Wall Street Journal stated, "What's really going on is a familiar scrum for federal cash, with politicians...using nationalism as cover for their pork-barreling."

Among those Boeing allies screaming the loudest about the Air Force decision on Capitol Hill are House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha (D-Pa.), one of the most notorious backroom dealmakers in Congress whom the public voted the "2007 Porker of the Year" in an online poll, and Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), whose "bona fides" on defense and national security include earmarking $1.7 million in Defense Budget funds to "improve the shelf life of vegetables."

While the $35 billion cost to taxpayers of the tanker contract is significant, more is at stake in this battle than dollars and cents. As Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics John Young said earlier this month, allowing Congress to preempt the GAO ruling or override the Air Force's decision "would open up slippery slopes and dangerous precedents," where members of Congress will simply select their favored pet contractors, regardless of the cost to taxpayers or the impact on our Armed Forces.

Please tell your Representative and Senators today to oppose any congressional intervention that would preempt the GAO review of the tanker contract award or overturn it based on political or parochial motives!

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Schatz
President

P.S. American servicemen and women are currently flying in tankers that date back to the early years of the Cold War. All the political maneuvering now underway in Congress just delays the Air Force in reequipping our forces with the newest and best technology. I urge you to tell your Representative and Senators to put the interests of taxpayers and American troops ahead of the "special interests" of one politically influential company.

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Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest taxpayer watchdog group with over one million members and supporters nationwide. It is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more information about CAGW, visit our website at www.cagw.org. Help CAGW wage this battle to preserve the integrity of the defense procurement process by making a tax-deductible contribution today.

Help us win this battle for taxpayers and our troops by getting as many Americans as possible to tell Congress: Stop meddling in the defense procurement process! Forward this message to your friends and neighbors.

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