Boeing Has a Powerful Ally With Hastert

House Speaker Throws His Clout Behind Controversial Air Force Tanker Deal

Congress is poised to appropriate $100 million to keep one of the federal government's most scandal-ridden and contentious programs -- the Air Force's plan to replace its aging aerial-refueling tankers with new Boeing 767s.

Insiders say that the primary reason for the payout is that House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has made Boeing Co.'s cause his own.

Hastert has worked aggressively behind the scenes to keep the tanker contract in Boeing's hands at least in part, his spokesman said, because Boeing is headquartered in Chicago, not far from his congressional district. Boeing also has needed the help. Questions about the cost of the program, among other worries, have prompted the Pentagon to put off deciding its fate until year-end at the earliest.

"Yes, the Speaker goes to bat for Illinois and he's been personally involved in this; he makes no secret about it," said Hastert spokesman John Feehery. But Feehery portrayed Hastert's interest in the deal as more than pork-barrel politics. "He's not just fighting for the sake of his constituency; it's also for the country's sake," he said.

A fight is what it took. "I don't know how we could have done something this controversial without the Speaker's support," said Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), an advocate for the tanker program whose Wichita congressional district includes a large Boeing factory. "You've got to have someone with a lot of clout on your side and he's been there four-square for us."

"The Speaker has sure weighed in on this one," confirmed George Behan, spokesman for Rep. Norman D. Dicks (D-Wash.), who also labored on Boeing's behalf. "He worked hard."

Hastert, who declined to be interviewed for this story, has had to fight all year for the appropriation. Several lawmakers, led by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), have added language to Senate bills that would restrict the program. Indeed, McCain has regularly tried since 2001 to limit, delay or terminate the Boeing plan. Still, at the Speaker's urging, House and Senate negotiators approved the seed money late Wednesday as part of a Pentagon spending bill. The entire measure is scheduled for votes in both chambers this week.

Boeing declined to comment. But its congressional backers say that they have stayed in close contact with the company's many lobbyists as they pressed the tanker issue. "I've been in contact with the Boeing office," Tiahrt said. "I probably talk to them once a week."

According to PoliticalMoneyLine.com, a nonpartisan campaign finance research group, the $4 million Boeing spent to pay dozens of lobbyists last year (the latest data available) made it No. 20 on the long list of major companies and interest groups that try to influence Washington decision-makers. In the current election cycle, Boeing ranks No. 12 among corporations in campaign giving to federal candidates. Its political action committee has contributed $492,000 so far, of which $10,000 went to Hastert, PoliticalMoneyLine.com records show.

McCain and others have charged that the proposed $23.5 billion deal for 100 Boeing jets -- the costliest lease in U.S. history -- was designed more to benefit Boeing than American taxpayers. Boeing found itself on the defensive after acknowledging that it improperly hired as an executive the former Air Force official, Darleen A. Druyun, who negotiated the lucrative arrangement. Druyun pleaded guilty in April to illegally accepting a job with the company.