Administration risks national security, gives US jobs to Brazil

hawker-beechcraft
Photo credit newsroom.hawkerbeechcraft.com

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama visited a Newport News naval shipyard to warn that massive job losses would result if the sequester cuts take effect.

The following day, the Obama Administration granted the military Light Air Support contract to Embraer S.A. a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate.

The other firm in the running, Hawker Beechcraft Corporation, is based smack dab in the middle of America’s heartland — Wichita Kansas — and enjoys a long and proud history of supplying the U.S. military with aircraft.

Had Hawker Beechcraft been granted the  contract, the company would have added or sustained 1,400 U.S. jobs.  The Embraer is expected to add approximately 50 Jacksonville assembly line jobs.

David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance made the following statement about the contract according to the PJ Media:

After a long-drawn-out contracting process that has been marred in controversy and questionable conduct by government officials, the Pentagon and the Obama Administration have again decided to put taxpayers at risk and ship jobs overseas by allowing a foreign company to produce important components of our national security.

On Thursday February 27th, Department of Defense (DOD) officials awarded the Light Air Support (LAS) contract to the Brazilian aircraft maker, Embraer. Interestingly and without explanation, the cost of the contract to taxpayers somehow ballooned from $355 million to $427.5 million, a 20 percent increase. With sequestration and billions of dollars in defense cuts set to take place, taxpayers should be outraged at this cost increase.
“By awarding the contract to the Brazilians, the Administration has once again failed to give Beechcraft, the American-made aircraft manufacturer vying for the contract, the full and fair consideration that was required during the procurement process…

…Now, the Administration is doubling-down on their prior mistakes by putting a critical defense project in the hands of a foreign sovereign. The extent of the carnage this decision causes is not just limited to the millions that will be sent overseas for these 20 LAS aircraft in the near-term. There are broader implications and untold billions of taxpayer dollars at stake by the Pentagon’s decision to grant the U.S. Air Force’s seal of approval to a foreign entity – backed financially and politically by Brazil. The Brazilian government has a “golden share” in Embraer, which essentially translates into operational control of the company. Not only does this put tax dollars at risk with the Brazilian company, but also could threaten US national security. The Administration’s unjustifiable endorsement of this Brazilian company could be exploited by them to gain unfair and unwarranted advantages in the U.S. and around the world. Meanwhile, domestic manufacturers are forced to cut jobs and highly skilled workers remain unemployed here at home.

Hawker Beechcraft recently emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the defense contract would have done much to assure the company’s future success.

H/T PJ Media

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