Gov. Gregoire�s statement on study announcing Boeing�s tanker would create 70,000 U.S. jobs

For Immediate Release: March 10, 2010

OLYMPIA - Gov. Gregoire issued the following statement regarding the news that the Boeing Co.�s tanker would create 70,000 jobs:

�Jobs are the way out of this recession. Today�s study confirms that awarding the Air Force�s refueling tanker contract to Boeing would create an estimated 70,000 new U.S. jobs. The economic benefits of building a U.S. based tanker are significant�from hiring new workers, to creating new businesses to support those workers, to providing research and development that will lead us into the future. In addition, a new American built tanker is critically important for our national security and military personnel.

�Eight other governors and I formed the U.S. Tanker 2010 coalition to highlight those benefits. The jobs created would be here in Washington state as well as throughout the country.

�I urge the Pentagon to move expeditiously in awarding this contract and putting Americans back to work.�

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