Lawmakers push approval of Air Force tanker lease

House lawmakers on Wednesday expressed support for the Air Force's controversial plan to lease Boeing KC-767 tanker aircraft, and questioned language in the Senate version of the fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill requiring the Air Force to put more resources toward salvaging its aging fleet of KC-135s refueling tankers.

During a House Aerospace Caucus luncheon today, Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., said the Air Force's original plan to lease 100 Boeing aircraft would have delivered an improved tanker capability before the end of the decade. Boeing's commercial 767 aircraft would be modified at its Wichita facility.

Tiahrt criticized the Senate's passage last year of a compromise backed by Senate Armed Services Chairman John Warner, R-Va., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that allowed the Air Force to lease only 20 aircraft while buying the remaining 80. Tiahrt said that strategy changed Boeing's planned delivery rate of 20 tankers a year to only 12, a move that ultimately could cost the Air Force $12 billion more than the original proposal to lease all 100 planes.

The Pentagon announced in May it will delay a decision on acquiring Boeing tanker aircraft until after the November election. Tiahrt said lawmakers' aversion to innovative procurement techniques, including leasing, could send the wrong signal to the defense acquisition community. He said the Pentagon has already nixed a plan to lease six Theater Support Vessels, a high-speed catamaran designed for quick transportation.

Tiahrt and Rep. Norman Dicks, D-Wash., who also spoke during the luncheon, are expected to add a provision in the House fiscal 2005 Defense appropriations bill, which is being marked up this afternoon, that would put the tanker acquisition program back on a fast track. The provision may be consistent with language in the House version of the defense authorization bill that requires the Pentagon to renegotiate a contract for the tankers by March 2005.