While yesterday’s decision by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to reopen discussions on their Air Force tanker contract (originally awarded to the French company, Airbus) was commendable, new information concerning Sen. Pat Roberts history of working against the interests of American workers is inexcusable. Boeing has been forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars appealing the Air Force's decision to award the tanker contract to EADS in order to clean up a mess that appears to have been preventable had Pat Roberts done his job. Three areas of significant concern to Boeing and the people of Kansas:

1. Roberts accepted $14,000 in campaign contributions from Northrop Grumman, a direct competitor of Boeing, who teamed with EADS and Airbus and was given an advantage over Boeing for the tanker contract.
2. When given the chance to support “Buy American” provisions that called for American companies and American workers to handle our national defense contracts, Roberts instead stripped the provisions from the final 2006 Defense Authorization Bill at the request of John McCain and the Bush administration. The provisions would have eliminated EADS/Airbus from the competition for the tanker, thus preventing foreign companies from securing 4,000 Kansas jobs related to our nation’s defense.
3. Finally, lobbying reports show Pat Roberts' son, David Roberts, lobbied the Senate on behalf of EADS on issues relating to the 2006 Defense Authorization Bill.

Jim Slattery, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, believes in maintaining a strong manufacturing base in America, and questioned Roberts’ commitment to Kansas workers. "This information raises significant questions about Roberts' priorities," Slattery said. "Why did Roberts not work to protect Boeing and the interests of Kansans when given the chance?" "Tax dollars spent on national defense should be spent in the United States. America's national security is put at risk when we outsource production of our military equipment and the economic security of thousands of Kansans is hurt when we export our manufacturing jobs."