The Pentagon Attempts to Quietly Push Two Sweetheart Deals for Boeing Through Congress
November 26, 2001

Heavy Lifting for Boeing: Sweetheart Deal Helps Defense Contractor and Hurts Taxpayers
March 1, 2001

A December 2000, the Air Force proposed a possibly illegal arrangement to declare Boeing's C-17 military cargo airlifter a "commercial item" -- even though the government is the only purchaser of this plane. The result would be reduced financial oversight of any future Air Force purchases of the cargo plane. The U.S. taxpayers would shoulder a huge sum to artificially create a commercial market for a private company to haul bulky and heavy "outsized" cargo. 

The C-17 proposal is only the latest in a series of recent attempts by defense contractors to remove financial oversight from government auditors and at the same time improperly increase their profits. The costly plan would be footed by the taxpayers and would give preferential treatment to a private frieght hauler.

Contractors challenge prohibition against campaign contributions, Sarah Chacko, Federal Times, October 20, 2011 

Federal defense agency granted contracts to company with ties to director, By Ken Dilanian, Los Angeles Times, April 3, 2011 

Pentagon Issues Ethics Memo Before Gutting Conflict-of-Interest Rules, By Spencer Ackerman, Wired; Danger Room, January 4, 2011 

From the Pentagon to the private sector, By Bryan Bender, The Boston Globe, December 26, 2010 

Army defends hiring of two former Bragg commanders, By Henry Cunningham, Fayetteville Observer (NC), December 10, 2009 

Army mentoring deals bypass ethics law, By Ken Dilanian, Tom Vanden Brook and Ray Locker, USA Today, December 7, 2009 

RAND study for DoD states that new tankers are not needed, By Megan Scully, GovExec.com, January 27, 2006