Hunter Slams Northrop-EADS Bid:

Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) remains committed to his Buy American provision and that includes the joint venture by Northrop Grumman and EADS to build a new Air Force tanker, according to panel spokesman Josh Holly. The Hunter provision is still part of the 2006 defense authorization bill, said Holly. Hunter says that France’s opposition to the Iraq war, not to mention the thought of giving jobs to Europe, has strengthened his resolve to block the company from getting the contract. He discounts the shrewd move by EADS to set up an assembly plant in Mobile, Ala. It may be enough to make Buy American seem less appealing to folks in Alabama, where, according to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the EADS plant will provide jobs for more than 1,000 Americans.