AFP Michigan activists protested a proposed $35 billion federal pork barrel project at the capitol in Lansing. The group was accompanied by ten flying pigs. They drove home the fact that, although pork may fly, the earmark process must be grounded.

Boeing Corporation was originally slated to receive a contract to build 100 KC-45A tankers for the Air Force through a $23 billion earmark tucked into the 2003 Defense Appropriations Act. Investigations into the earmark not only stopped the deal, but uncovered a scandal which lead to a $600 million fine for Boeing and jail time for their operative.

In 2006, the Air Force held an open and competitive bid for the new tanker. Last February, they awarded the contract to Northrop Grumman and its prime sub-contractor the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company. Northrup Grumman’s bid was preferred by the Air Force on 4 of the 5 selection criteria. It was found not just a better value for taxpayers but also the best option based on warfare capabilities.

Boeing appealed this decision to the Government Accountability Office, who is currently investigating the procurement process. With the help of some members of Congress they want to overturn the merit-based process used by the Air Force and approve a larger version of the original scandalous earmark.

Boeing brought its marketing people to Lansing in an attempt to sway public opinion. AFP Michigan was on hand to call attention to the fact that this would be the largest single earmark in our nation’s history for a plane the Air Force does not want. Ten large helium balloons slowed passersbys long enough to give them information.