The News Tribune is reporting today that Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., is dropping his plan to split a $35 billion contract for new Air Force refueling tankers between Boeing and its European rival EADS.
It's considered a positive development for Boeing, though a spokesman told the paper that his company was preparing all along for a winner-take-all competition.
Murtha, the chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, reportedly dropped the plan because Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, asked him to.
Last year, Boeing lost the tanker contract to Northrop, but the company mounted a successful protest that was upheld by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
