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Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire urge the President Obama to award the long-delayed, long-awaited contract for the Air Force's new refueling tanker to Boeing.
The governors sent a letter to the White House on Tuesday. Two two are co-chairs of the U.S. Tanker Coalition. The group consists of governors and business interests from 40 states who would benefit from Boeing winning the contract.
The Department of Defense is expected to make a decision in the next few weeks.
Brownback and Gregoire want the President to instruct the Pentagon and Air Force to consider allegedly illegal European government subsidies given the European bidders before making a final decision.
Last Friday, Boeing and rival EADS submitted final proposals to build the aircraft. The initial contract for 179 planes is worth at least $35-40 billion.
Boeing says a win would mean 50,000 jobs nationwide, including several thousand in Kansas. Boeing's proposal is a modified 767 tanker.
EADS, the parent company of Airbus, would build its tanker in Mobile, Alabma. EADS promises to create 48,000 American jobs. It's entry is a modified A330.
It's taken more than a decade just to award the contract to replace the approx. 600 Eisenhower-era planes. Boeing won the contract originally, but the contract was thrown out in an ethics scandal. EADS won the next bid in 2008, but Boeing challenged it and force another competition.
Some analysts say EADS is the frontrunner because it can underbid Boeing due to European subsidies. They also say Boeing appears ready to consider another formal protest if EADS wins the contract.