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Senate aid package quietly carves out billions intended for Boeing, officials say [View all]
Source: Washington Post
Senate aid package quietly carves out billions intended for Boeing, officials say
Provision for company ‘critical’ to national security targets airplane maker, despite Max safety lapses
By Aaron Gregg, Jeff Stein and Josh Dawsey
March 25, 2020 at 2:02 p.m. EDT
Lawmakers have inserted in the Senate’s $2 trillion stimulus package a little-noticed provision aimed at providing billions of dollars in emergency assistance to Boeing, the aerospace giant already under fire for deadly safety lapses in its commercial jets, three people with knowledge of the internal deliberations said.
The Senate package includes a $17 billion federal loan program for businesses deemed “critical to maintaining national security.” The provision does not mention Boeing by name but was crafted largely for the company’s benefit, two of the people said. Other firms could also receive a share of the money, one of the people said. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations.
The carve-out is separate from the $58 billion the Senate package is providing in loans for cargo and passenger airlines, as well as the $425 billion in loans it is allocating to help firms, states and cities hurt by the current downturn. Congressional aides cautioned that the Senate bill was still going through last-minute revisions and could change.
A Boeing spokesman declined to comment. The company previously said in a March 17 statement that at “least $60 billion” is needed to support the broader aerospace manufacturing industry, suggesting that the aid package should include a mix of “public and private liquidity, including loan guarantees.”
In a Tuesday interview on Fox, Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun said he would not be willing to give the government an equity stake in the company in exchange for a bailout, implying the company would accept assistance only on its own terms. President Trump has said he would support the idea, suggested by his economic adviser, of taking an equity stake in companies that receive assistance in the package.
-snip-
Provision for company ‘critical’ to national security targets airplane maker, despite Max safety lapses
By Aaron Gregg, Jeff Stein and Josh Dawsey
March 25, 2020 at 2:02 p.m. EDT
Lawmakers have inserted in the Senate’s $2 trillion stimulus package a little-noticed provision aimed at providing billions of dollars in emergency assistance to Boeing, the aerospace giant already under fire for deadly safety lapses in its commercial jets, three people with knowledge of the internal deliberations said.
The Senate package includes a $17 billion federal loan program for businesses deemed “critical to maintaining national security.” The provision does not mention Boeing by name but was crafted largely for the company’s benefit, two of the people said. Other firms could also receive a share of the money, one of the people said. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations.
The carve-out is separate from the $58 billion the Senate package is providing in loans for cargo and passenger airlines, as well as the $425 billion in loans it is allocating to help firms, states and cities hurt by the current downturn. Congressional aides cautioned that the Senate bill was still going through last-minute revisions and could change.
A Boeing spokesman declined to comment. The company previously said in a March 17 statement that at “least $60 billion” is needed to support the broader aerospace manufacturing industry, suggesting that the aid package should include a mix of “public and private liquidity, including loan guarantees.”
In a Tuesday interview on Fox, Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun said he would not be willing to give the government an equity stake in the company in exchange for a bailout, implying the company would accept assistance only on its own terms. President Trump has said he would support the idea, suggested by his economic adviser, of taking an equity stake in companies that receive assistance in the package.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/25/boeing-bailout-coronavirus/
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