Hillary Clinton Takes On Tanker Deal

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) today jumped right into the middle of the Air Force’s competition for new aerial refueling tankers.

The Pentagon is required by law to consider the impact of decisions about major weapons buys on the domestic industrial base, she said, taking a position sure to please Boeing supporters, who have aggressively referred to tanker offered by Northrop Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. as a “French tanker.”

Clinton asked Michael Donley, the nominee to become the next Air Force secretary, his opinion on the issue during his confirmation hearing.

“Attempting to go with U.S. sources only in particular situations where it seems to advantage one company over another is really a temporary perspective,” Donley said.

Wrong!

Clinton cited Title 10 of the U.S. Code, saying domestic industrial base considerations is a requirement. And, she said, even though the United States is an international economy, the decision could hamper competitiveness and the creation of technical skill among workers “in a way that will come back to haunt us.”