The Blog

Governor Chris Gregoire

06/18/08

Today the people of the state of Washington received some great news. The Government Accountability Office has ruled to recommend that bids be reopened for the U.S. Air Force’s new refueling tanker. You may recall that the Air Force accepted the bid from Northrop Grumman Corp and its European partner EADS in February.

At the time, I questioned this decision based on the bid process and on cost and security concerns. I was confident the GAO would agree with Boeing’s appeal, and find that the Air Force made changes during the decision process that gave Boeing’s competitor an unfair advantage.

This announcement will have benefits that extend far beyond Boeing. It means there is another opportunity for Boeing to re-bid for the contract and keep high-skill, high-wage jobs right here in Washington and in communities across the country.

The decision also ensures that Boeing will continue to be the world leader in plane manufacturing with the best aviation work force in the nation.