Washington Watchdog Calls Tanker Deal "Budget Buster"

Watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) this week has rare praise for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, after he said USAF negotiations on leasing Boeing 767 aircraft as refueling tankers appeared to have involved wrongdoing, though he did not single out a possible culprit. The secretary has called for a 90-day suspension of the lease, along with several investigations of the $17 billion deal.

"The tanker lease is expensive, unnecessary, budget-busting, scandalous, and the worst example of corporate welfare and backroom deal-making in recent memory. A taxpayer rip-off of this magnitude calls for intervention from the highest levels of authority," CAGW President Tom Schatz said. "Secretary Rumsfeld is faithfully serving his duty to root out waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon."

A lobbying campaign involving senior Boeing officials, Air Force officers, interested lawmakers and military retirees led to the deal's inclusion in the 2002 Defense Appropriations bill. The plan immediately attracted criticism from Pentagon offices, White House budget officials and outside experts, who pointed out that upgrading existing tankers or buying the planes outright would save billions of dollars. Darlene Druyun, the senior Air Force official who negotiated the deal with Boeing was subsequently hired, then fired by the company after it discovered emails indicating a conflict of interest.

Secretary Rumsfeld has ordered the Defense Science Board to evaluate the requirements needed to re-capitalize the tanker fleet. The DSB will identify issues, including corrosion, service life, and cost to maintain the current fleet, refurbish aircraft, modify aircraft, buy new aircraft, and reduce demand for new aircraft by re-engining. The secretary also said the Pentagon's in-house watchdog, Joseph Schmitz, was "working in an orderly and systematic way to try to come to the truth as to what took place in the matter." Schmitz will review the employment discussions regarding Darlene Druyun for any improprieties, including whether any other companies were involved in such discussions and whether they affected any decisions regarding the tanker lease.

Citizens Against Government Waste spearheaded the effort against the Boeing deal after it was surreptitiously approved by the Pentagon's acquisition chief during his last few hours on the job. More than 7,500 CCAGW members have signed a Citizens Declaration against the lease deal, while another 3,500 have generated faxes in opposition to House Speaker Dennis Hastert's (R-IL) support of the deal. CCAGW has also praised the efforts of Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) for his role as the voice of fiscal responsibility in attempting to stop this boondoggle. CAGW named Boeing its "Corporate Turkey of the Year" in recognition of the lease deal and a host of other scandals perpetuated by the company in 2003.

"Along with his efforts to streamline and modernize the U.S. military, Secretary Rumsfeld is trying to protect the integrity of the procurement system and the best interests of taxpayers," Schatz concluded.

FMI: www.cagw.org