Shelby places blanket hold on Obama nominees

Getting new tankers for the USAF to replace the crumbling KC-135 fleet is pork? Researching terrorists’ favorite explosives is pork?

They need to make a damn decision on the tankers NOW. They’ve been screwing around with that deal since 2006 and before. Boeing did some seriously illegal stuff that got some of their folks thrown in jail around 2006, which is why the USAF looked at the Northrup-Grumman tanker at all.

The delay is inexcusable, and if Shelby’s hold gets somebody off his ass to award a contract, good for him.

funky chicken on February 5, 2010 at 12:30 PM

We would have had them by 2013, except for Boeing’s back room shinanagans. They probably have a few dozen Darleen Druyun style spots warmed up for those GAO’rs who played in the game.

unclesmrgol on February 5, 2010 at 12:31 PM

+1

The tanker deal is critical, so again, if Shelby has to pull a stunt to get that project moving, it’s a good move on his part.

funky chicken on February 5, 2010 at 12:34 PM

r keller on February 5, 2010 at 12:34 PM

Um, no. Boeing engaged in criminal behavior years before EADS was awarded the contact. Google Darleen Druyun, or just follow unclesmrgol’s link.

funky chicken on February 5, 2010 at 12:36 PM

Chris Balsz
maverick muse

+1

Ed, lousy article based upon statements from Harry Reid’s office. I thought you were aware of the Boeing fraud around the tanker deal. Here’s a good start, again from unclesmrgol’s link:

In 1993 Darleen Druyun was investigated for her involvement in a plan to speed up payments by the Air Force to McDonnell Douglas [1]. Although several other people involved were discharged, Druyun kept her position. In 2000 Druyun sent the resumes of her daughter, a recent college graduate, and her daughter’s fiancé, a published PhD Aeronautical Engineer, to Boeing and both were hired.[2] Although this was a conflict of interest, it was not illegal. The investigation into her illegal activities was spearheaded by Senator John McCain.[citation needed]
After leaving the Air Force in 2003 she took a job with Boeing at an annual salary of $250,000[1]
[edit]Boeing
In May 2003, the United States Air Force announced it would lease 100 KC-767 tankers to replace the oldest 136 of its KC-135s. The 10 year lease would give the USAF the option to purchase the aircraft at the end of the contract. In September 2003, responding to critics who argued that the lease was vastly more expensive than an outright purchase, the United States Department of Defense announced a revised lease. In November 2003, the Air Force decided it would lease 20 KC-767 aircraft and purchase 80 tankers.[2]
Buying one KC-767 outright costs $150 million. The contract called for 100 aircraft being purchased or leased at an aggregate price of $26 bn, or $260 mn per plane. Therefore, the contract, if it had been executed, would have forced the DOD to pay Boeing much more money for each plane than it would have had to if the aircraft were purchased individually.
In December 2003, the Pentagon announced the project was to be frozen while an investigation of allegations of corruption by Druyun (who had moved to Boeing in January 2003) was begun. Druyun pleaded guilty to inflating the price of the contract to favor her future employer and to passing information on the competing Airbus A330 MRTT bid (from EADS). In October 2004, she was sentenced to nine months in jail for corruption, fined $5,000, given three years of supervised release and 150 hours of community service. She began her prison term on January 5, 2005[3]. She was released from prison on September 30, 2005. The ramifications extended to Boeing CFO Michael M. Sears, who was fired from Boeing, and Boeing CEO Phil Condit resigned. On February 18, 2005, Sears was sentenced to four months in prison. Boeing ended up paying a $615 million fine for their involvement.[4] According to The Federal Times, Darleen Druyun will still be receiving a federal pension.[3]
CBS News called it “the biggest Pentagon scandal in 20 years” and said that she pled guilty to a felony.[5]

Shelby’s got a history of porkishness, but your article here is inaccurate and unfair.

funky chicken on February 5, 2010 at 12:44 PM