By Bryan Corliss
Herald Writer
Congress could act as soon as next week on a plan to lease 100 Boeing 767 jets to be used as aerial refueling tankers for the U.S. Air Force, senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell said Monday at Boeing’s Everett factory.
Orders for the first six planes would come late next year, with the first planes to be delivered in 2005, said Cantwell, who toured the 767 assembly line Monday with Murray. Peak production, 20 planes a year, would come from 2007-10.
That’s too late for the 7,000 Puget Sound-area Boeing workers who will be laid off Friday. But long-term, "a deal like this helps ease the pain," Cantwell said. "This puts the Northwest economy in a little better position."
Boeing estimates the deal would provide jobs for 2,400 of its workers, plus another 5,500 jobs for workers at companies that supply Boeing with 767 parts, said John Quinlivan, Boeing’s Everett site manager.
"We want to build the 21st-century tanker to support the 21st-century fighter," Quinlivan said.
Whether Boeing gets to do that depends on what happens in Congress this week.
The Senate Friday night approved spending between
$15 billion and $20 billion on the tanker lease program. But the House of Representatives has OK’d a much more modest plan — $150 million, enough for the Air Force to buy and convert one 767 to be a tanker as a demonstration of the project’s feasibility.
House and Senate negotiators will meet this week to reconcile the two plans.
The proposal faces opposition. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has not requested the planes and the White House budget office opposed the original lease-purchase proposal. To get around budget rules, Senate officials worked out a lease arrangement that will not count against the Pentagon’s regular purchasing budget.
Boeing will be required to repossess the planes after the leases expire, and the Air Force will have to remove the modifications, under the proposal. However, Quinlivan said those details all are in flux.
The plan has the support of the Air Force, Murray said. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper is "a key supporter," she said. "This is a program that they want."
Congress likely would have started the process of buying new tankers for the Air Force next year anyway, Cantwell said. The Air Force now is flying KC-135 tanker planes that are, on average, 42 years old, and will require about $3 billion in maintenance over the next couple years.
"We’ve continued to put off upgrading that fleet," Cantwell said. "We can’t continue to keep flying around in 40-plus year-old planes."
Union leaders praised the proposed legislation.
"In a sea of bad news, it’s good to get good news," said Charles Bofferding, the president of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace. "We will keep Boeing employees employed and moving forward."
"This is just a start of a rebound," added Mark Blondin, the Machinists union district president. He called on the House to "step forward and make the same commitment to the American people."
Several dozen Boeing workers gathered to listen to Murray and Cantwell speak. Cantwell told them that Boeing employees nationwide should contact their Congressional representatives to "emphasize this is a win-win situation."
Boeing already has launched its 767 tanker program with a $700 million order for four planes for the Italian military.
The basic airframes will be built in Everett. The first plane will be modified in Wichita by Boeing, while the other three will be modified by an Italian company.
The Japanese military also is due to select a new aerial tanker, with a decision likely this week, Quinlivan said.
The Washington Post contributed to this report.
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