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US Senator eases Obama nominee blockade over tanker feud

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A US Senator has mostly eased an unusual threat to block a vast number of President Barack Obama's nominees amid a dispute over a lucrative US Air Force tanker deal, his office said Monday

Tuesday, February 09, 2010
By: AFP writers

WASHINGTON, February 9, 2010 (AFP) - A US Senator has mostly eased an unusual threat to block a vast number of President Barack Obama's nominees amid a dispute over a lucrative US Air Force tanker deal, his office said Monday.

Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, had caused a stir by vowing to stall the confirmations in part because of the feud pitting Airbus parent EADS and its partner Northrop Grumman against Boeing.

The White House had charged that Shelby, who also cited possible obstacles to building an FBI facility in his home state of Alabama, was acting purely to preserve pet projects with a total value in the tens of billions of dollars.

"The purpose of placing numerous holds was to get the White House’s attention on two issues that are critical to our national security," said Shelby spokesman Jonathan Graffeo.

"With that accomplished, Senator Shelby has decided to release his holds on all but a few nominees directly related to the Air Force tanker acquisition" until the air force sets up a new bid for the contract, said Graffeo.

The US Senate frequently approves non-controversial nominees without a formal roll-call vote, with a "unanimous consent" determination that can be blocked by just one senator, requiring a time-consuming process and 60-votes in the 100-seat chamber to overcome.

The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company and its rival Boeing have been locked in a long-running rivalry to win a 35-billion-dollar contract for a fleet of new aerial refueling tankers.

The EADS/Northrop partnership would build the airplane in Alabama but have accused the Pentagon of favoring Boeing in a draft request for proposal and warned they may withdraw from the competition.

Shelby "is not seeking to determine the outcome of the competition; he is seeking to ensure an open, fair and transparent competition that delivers the best equipment to our men and women in uniform," said Graffeo.

The senator also defended his campaign for the Federal Bureau of Investigation center in Alabama to test improvised explosive devices -- the "roadside bombs" that have killed hundreds of US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The FBI, along with their federal state and local counterparts use this forensic information from these retrieved explosive devices to catch terrorists throughout the world," said Graffeo.

Shelby has kept "holds" on three nominees: Terry Yonkers for assistant secretary of the Air Force; Frank Kendall, principal deputy under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics; and Erin Conaton, under secretary of the Air Force, an official said.

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