The chairman of the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee plans to use the upcoming war emergency supplemental bill to jumpstart the aerial tanker program. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., advocates splitting the purchase between Boeing, which would build them in Washington State, and the Northrop Grumman/EADS team, which would build them in Mobile, Ala. Murtha has been working on a proposal that would fund two tankers to be built a month, instead of just one, as initially projected. (Source: The Hill, 03/12/09)
