McCain Says May Subpoena Boeing Over Tanker Deal

[Nambe]

WASHINGTON (Reuters)

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain on Thursday threatened to subpoena Boeing Co. for documents on the tanker aircraft it plans to lease to the U.S. government, a deal the lawmaker has criticized as a government handout.

After concerns were raised by other committee members, McCain agreed to delay a vote on subpoenas for a week while the panel waits to see if more information is forthcoming from Boeing and the senators work out ways to keep the pricing data demanded confidential.

"We've received information from outside sources that Boeing offered this same aircraft at a much lower price to airlines in foreign countries," said McCain, an Arizona Republican. "We don't know if that's true or not." ---

"I would point out that we asked for the information over a month and only two days ago did we receive the first piece of paper," McCain said at a committee hearing. ---

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[asjr]

1. McCain

I think McCain is just all talk. In the end he will do whatever is advantageous to him.

[gristy]

2. McCain is made of the right stuff

If you are saying that it is advantageous to McCain to question this deal because his constituents question it too, I wholeheartedly agree!

I have considerable respect for McCain. During the FCC Broohaha, his position was originally that the FCC should be allowed to do its mandated job (I spoke with a lawyer on the Commerce Committee's office). But after their ruling in June, as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, he led the charge to overturn the ruling. And I don't think these his original position is inconsistent with this subsequent action.

This tanker lease deal with Boeing is a terrible deal for the government and a big handout for Boeing.

[w4rma]

3. You speak like the FCC "broohaha" is over

It's not. The rule is still in place. The House Republican leadership is not in favor of changing the rule. I think that at least some of the rule will be changed, but I think it will be a fight to do even that.

[American Renaissance]

4. Go John!

The Boeing 767 deal is practically criminal.

The military doesn't even WANT the damn things, they want to buy DC-10's parked in the desert and convert them to KC-10's. That proposal would cost UNDER $20 million dollars per plane.

The Boeing deal will cost more than $20 million dollars per plane per year, and the damn planes are only worth about $70 million in the first place.

So the government is paying $200 million per plane over the 10 year lease, plus a ton of ancillary shit on the side.

In China a deal like this would get the participants hauled infront of a firing squad,