Republican held up defense dept nominations over refueling contract (not very patriotic...)

[The Straight Story]

Senate confirms Defense nominees stalled by GOP holds
By Megan Scully and Dan Friedman CongressDaily March 5, 2010

The Senate late Thursday approved three Defense Department nominees whose confirmation had been blocked for weeks by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., amid concerns about an Air Force contract for aerial refueling tankers.

The nominees, confirmed by unanimous consent, are Frank Kendall, to be principal deputy undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics; Erin Conaton, to be undersecretary of the Air Force; and Terry Yonkers, to be assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations and environment. Conaton is the House Armed Services Committee's staff director.

Northrop Grumman Corp. and EADS are vying for the high-stakes tanker contract, worth as much as $40 billion, and plan to build the planes in Mobile, Ala. But Northrop Grumman officials are weighing whether to pull out of the competition because they fear the Air Force may be favoring their competitor, Boeing Co.

....

On Thursday, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said he told Shelby and other GOP senators who were blocking Pentagon nominations that he would go to the floor and seek consent to confirm the nominees. If they objected, Levin said he would force them to explain why they were blocking Defense nominees for reasons unrelated to their merits "in the middle of two wars."

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