WASHINGTON — The House Armed Services Committee, which in July approved an Air Force plan to lease 100 refueling planes from Boeing Co., should take another look at the issue in light of recent questions raised about the deal, a committee member said Wednesday.
Rep. Victor Snyder, D-Ark., said he did not know whether the lease-buy strategy should be approved, but he was concerned that the committee acted before the latest information was available.
"In light of our responsibility to our constituents to oversee military spending and ensure that tax money is spent wisely, I think another hearing on the subject is the best course to follow," Snyder said in a statement.
Snyder sent a letter to the chairman of the committee, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., requesting a hearing. Another high-ranking Democrat on the committee has made a similar request, according to a congressional source.
Since the committee approved the deal, the Congressional Budget Office has said leasing the planes would be $5.7 billion more expensive than buying them outright, and the Senate Commerce Committee has released hundreds of pages of internal Boeing documents, some of which have spurred an investigation by the Pentagon inspector general’s office.
The House Armed Services Committee approved the plan to lease and then buy 100 of the planes, which can refuel fighter jets in flight, in late July, but there was no public vote. Hunter issued a statement that he was "endorsing the proposal" and notified the Air Force of his action. It is unclear whether the committee could reverse the decision after another hearing.
"We’re not sure there is much more to examine on this issue. While a purchase of the tankers would be ideal, there are many constraints in the defense budget," said Harald Stavenas, a committee spokesman.
The deal has been stalled by the Senate Armed Services Committee, the lone panel with jurisdiction over the issue yet to approve the deal. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the committee, has said he will wait until the General Accounting Office and the Congressional Budget Office finish analyzing his proposal to scale back the lease-purchase strategy before scheduling a vote.
Warner wants the Air Force to lease up to 25 of the planes and buy the rest through the traditional procurement process. The Air Force has said the alternate plan would save money but delay the deployment of the planes. One of the chief objectives of the lease-buy strategy is to ensure swift delivery of the aircraft.
The Air Force wants to push ahead with its current contract to lease 100 of the Boeing 767s and pay off 26 of the leases early, saving money on interest payments. The current fleet of tankers is more than 40 years old and has become increasingly expensive to maintain, Air Force officials said.
Given current budget constraints, the planes are too expensive to buy outright, making a lease the only way the Air Force can afford them on an accelerated schedule, the officials said.
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