Yesterday on Capitol Hill, Members of Congress from states and districts across the country representing millions of Americans joined forces to push for a level playing field for the American aerospace industry and its workers, and for the administration to take World Trade Organization findings into account in the upcoming Air Force tanker competition.

At a press conference, U.S. Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS), Patty Murray (D-WA), Kit Bond (R-MO), Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Congressmen Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) were joined by a bipartisan group of Members of Congress and other stakeholders to speak up for the American aerospace industry and its workers and against illegal subsidies and unfair trade practices.

That bipartisan group included Reps. Norm Dicks (D-WA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Phil Hare (D-IL), Eric Massa (D-NY), Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) and Dave Reichert (R-WA) as well as Frontiers of Freedom president George Landrith and Progressive Policy Institute's Jim Arkedis.

Bipartisan Members of Congress and stakeholders speak out for level playing field for American workers. From left: George Landrith, President of Frontiers of Freedom; Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS); U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT); U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) and U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS).

Standing beneath a sign stating "Illegal Subsidies Hurt American Workers", Brownback reiterated his position that the WTO ruling confirms what has long been suspected: Europe illegally subsidizes the development of large aircraft, forcing U.S. competitors out of business and putting Americans out of work. He further stated that illegal subsidies cannot be ignored when considering the evaluation of bids in the KC-X competition.

The WTO ruling has garnered much coverage since the announcement in Sept. of this year. Paul Shearon opined in a recent Tampa Tribune commentary "Stealing American jobs" that the Defense Department should discount the value of subsidies to keep the KC-X competition fair. In a recent Seattle PI blog, "Air Force reiterates position on WTO ruling" blogger Aubrey Cohen points to the Air Force responses to questions on the draft request for proposals for their position: the recent WTO interim ruling will not be taken into account.

Our position has been and remains that government subsidies to Airbus are market-distorting and a violation of WTO rules. For KC-X, we seek what anyone else in the industry would seek -- a fair competition on a level playing field where everyone is held to the same standards and transparency. We appreciate the Congressional leaders who are fighting not only for a fair contest in the KC-X bid, but for the precedent and the message that this sends to American workers.

In the meantime, our Boeing KC-7A7 capture team continues to work through the Air Force's established process for review and comment before the final RFP is issued. This process has included submitting questions requesting clarification of the draft RFP. The Air Force has answered some of these questions on www.fbo.gov. The final RFP is expected in December with a contract award some time in mid-2010.