Lawmaker eyes move to block tanker money

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A key member of the U.S. House of Representatives said on Thursday he would seek to block funds to start buying $35 billion of tanker aircraft if auditors call for reopening a competition in which Boeing Co lost out to Northrop Grumman Corp and a European partner.

Rep. John Murtha, chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense, would recommend holding off on approving $831 million sought by the Air Force for related spending in the fiscal 2009 budget if auditors conclude that a new competition should be held, said a Murtha spokesman.

The spokesman, Matthew Mazonkey, was clarifying remarks made earlier in the day by Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat. Murtha had said he would block funds if GAO "overturns" the Air Force award to Northrop, something not in GAO's power to do, although it may make recommendations up to and including a call for a new competition.

Mazonkey pointed out that reopening the contract competition could take 18 months to 24 months, easing the need for money in the fiscal year that starts on Oct 1.

Boeing Co challenged the tanker award after the Air Force surprised aerospace analysts and others on February 29 by selecting Northrop Grumman and Europe's EADS.

The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional arm that investigates such protests, is due to rule by June 19 on the contract for the tankers that are used to refuel fighters and other warplanes in flight.

Murtha blamed Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee for U.S. President, for prolonging the delay in getting the tankers to the Air Force. McCain spearheaded investigations into an initial, $23.5 billion Air Force plan to lease and buy 100 modified Boeing 767 aircraft as tankers.

"Senator McCain himself held this thing up," Murtha told reporters after giving a speech at the Center for American Progress.