If the Pentagon Hands Boeing $50 Billion, Taxpayers Should Own the IP
Washington, D.C. — Following reports the Pentagon has selected Boeing—which is currently seeking to rescind a guilty plea agreement in a case over its role in two deadly plane crashes in 2018 and 2019—for a $50 billion contract to build the next generation of the military’s fighter jets, the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.
“In the last 24 hours it’s become clear that Boeing still enjoys a most favored nation status with the federal government, despite the well-documented and ongoing concerns about safety and quality that have led to tragic crashes and cost overruns on the corporation’s defense and commercial airline divisions,” said William J. McGee, Senior Fellow for Aviation & Travel at the American Economic Liberties Project. “If the U.S. Department of Defense is going to bail out Boeing yet again with a fat defense contract worth $50 billion, the government should own the intellectual property developed under that contract. The experience of bloated sustainment costs for the F-47–‘the most expensive jet fighter ever’–shows why it is critical for the U.S. Armed Forces to be able to repair, maintain, and modify its equipment without having to get permission or use monopolistic contractors.”
Boeing is also seeking to rescind a plea agreement made during the Biden Administration with the U.S. Department of Justice over defrauding the Federal Aviation Administration before the two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018-2019 that killed 346 people. The company has obviously decided it can do better by modifying a sweetheart deal with what media reports are calling “fresh eyes” at the Trump Administration.
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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.