With thousands of Americans losing their jobs every day, U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) is likely to get lots of support for his demand that a foreign company not be allowed to build the next generation of Air Force One, our presidential aircraft.
The U.S. Air Force has already sent out requests for information from major aircraft manufacturers to build and maintain three new planes to serve as Air Force One beginning in 2017. The only firms expected to qualify for the job are the U.S. firm Boeing, builder of presidential planes, including Air Force One, since 1962, and the European aircraft consortium Airbus.
"Like other critical aspects of our military infrastructure, we should not outsource the building and maintenance of the president's planes," said Sen. Brownback in a press release. "And more to the point, we shouldn't allow national security contracts to go to conglomerates heavily and unfairly subsidized by foreign powers that at times may have different foreign policy and military goals than the United States."
"Air Force One is no place for a government-backed foreign company to learn on the job," he added. "There is no need to build new plants or outsource this vital work all over the world. We need to do everything we can to create jobs at home and keep the jobs we have and this is another way we can keep that promise."
Boeing has already suffered from the down-spiraling U.S. economy, laying off 4,500 workers on January 11. The firm still employs over 150,000 workers nationwide, with nearly 70,000 working in its Integrated Defense System division, the current builders of Air Force One.
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