This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 21, 2011 - Sen. Claire McCaskill sharply criticized the Missouri House once again for putting forward a non-binding resolution seen as a slight of Boeing.
Back in October, the Missouri House passed a resolution in October praising Lockheed's F-35 strike fighter. About 500 Missourians work for subcontractors in the state who produce parts for the plane. But the resolution seemed to contain veiled criticism of the F/A-18, although not by name, that was seen as a jab at Boeing, which employs about 15,000 people in the state, mostly at the St. Louis plant.
In particular, the resolution stated that the F-35 was critical "to the modernization of our military because it will replace aging and obsolete aircraft and secure United States air superiority for the next generation."
That resolution brought about a round of criticism from political figures, including Gov. Jay Nixon, and U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, R-Wildwood. The House eventually passed another resolution aimed at clamping down on the controversy.
Standing in front of a F/A-18 Super Hornet at Boeing's facility in Berkeley on Monday, McCaskill praised the F/A-18 for being effective at less cost than the F-35 joint strike fighter.
"The joint strike fighter, in terms of what they have been able to do, can be characterized as a hot, sloppy mess," said McCaskill, D-Mo. "The joint strike fighter is twice as expensive and frankly marginally more capable. This aircraft has 80 percent - and that's a conservative estimate - of the capability of the joint strike fighter at half the cost."
McCaskill -- who spent most of a press event reacting to the failure so far of the so-called "super committee" to secure a deal -- said the battle between the two planes can be linked to the pressing deficit debates.
"Think about that in contrast with the federal government having to reduce expenditures," McCaskill said. "If we can get 80 percent of the capability at half the cost, doesn't that make sense that we would work toward a blend of these aircraft on our carriers? And when the Missouri legislature passed a resolution calling this aircraft ancient and obsolete, they clearly do not know the men and women that work at Boeing and have never talked to a Navy pilot that flies one of these aircraft."
"Because I can assure you I have," she added. "And the pilots that are flying this aircraft love this aircraft."
McCaskill had originally planned to visit the facility in October, but had to postpone the visit due to bad weather.
Hopes For NLRB Resolution
McCaskill was more measured when talking about Boeing's scrap with the National Labor Relations Board over Boeing's plan to shift work to a proposed new non-union plant in South Carolina for the 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
In a visit in October to a Boeing facility in Mascoutah, Sen. Mark Kirk contended that the NLRB's objections amounted to "a singularly idiotic move by a couple of bureaucrats in Washington trying to cripple the No. 1 exporter in America with the No.1 product of that exporter -- the 787." Kirk, R-Illinois,also said he wanted Congress to block "this particularly idiotic maneuver so that we can build employment at Boeing in general."
Asked about the dispute, McCaskill said "I just hope we get it settled."
"I'm glad we don't have these kinds of problems in St. Louis, where ... union representatives are working arm-in-arm and lockstep with management in this company bringing down the costs of this aircraft, bringing their ingenuity and their creativity to the floor of this facility, changing the way that this aircraft is built that is not only good for the company but good for our country," McCaskill said.
She added:
"I hope it gets settled. I understand that it's a legal dispute and that it's in the courts. So I won't comment on a legal dispute. But I have talked to both management and union representatives around this problem in Seattle and in South Carolina and I think everybody wants to get it settled."
