White House's $17 billion helicopter fleet

The Pentagon has awarded a contract to begin development of the most expensive helicopters ever made.

Each helicopter will probably cost at least $400 million. The entire project, to build at least 23 helicopters, has been estimated to eventually cost between $10 billion to $17 billion. By comparison, the project could pay the combined defense budgets of Finland, Norway, and Sweden for one year ($16.9 billion). The passengers for this enormously expensive helicopter fleet? The President of the United States and his entourage.

The first president to fly regularly in helicopters was Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower faced a two-hour commute to and from his summer home in Rhode Island, a commute that could be shaved down considerably if taken by helicopter. In these early days of the Cold War the president needed to be moved around quickly—the president could not be stuck on a ferry for an hour in case the Soviet Union launched a nuclear attack. The South Lawn of the White House was designated as the official presidential helicopter landing pad, and official flights to Andrews Air Force Base began.

A Marine Corps helicopter squadron, HMX-1 (“The Knighthawks”) is responsible for flying and maintaining the fleet of presidential helicopters. The current Marine One helicopters are derivatives of the Sikorsky Sea King helicopter, which was phased out of the U.S. military during the 1990s. Those currently flying were built somewhere around 1975, making them only 14 years younger than President Obama himself. In 2002, the U.S. government solicited proposals for replacing the Sea Kings with a new, modern helicopter. In the wake of 9/11, with concerns about terrorist attacks against the president, the call went out for a helicopter that could fend off a terrorist shoulder-fired surface to air missile and keep functioning in the wake of a nuclear attack

Obama administration to spend $20 BILLION on helicopter program to replace his private fleet of 23 choppers – but they won’t be ready until 2022
The tab for a new helicopter fleet will likely top $20 billion, including $3 billion spent between 2005 and 2009 on a program that was later canceled
The new contract will buy 23 SIkorsky helicopters at an estimated cost of $400 million each – about the cost of the Air Force One 747 jet
Duplicate choppers fly as decoys whenever a president takes off from the South Lawn; others are flown to Obama’s travel destinations in advance
Just one company bid on the project, raising questions about whether the Navy got a fair price
A former senior Pentagon official said for the price, the new aircraft should have a ‘solid gold toilet ... except that it would add too much weight’

HARTFORD — A 14-year, $400 million bundle of tax incentives for aerospace giant United Technologies Corp. was overwhelmingly approved in the House on Thursday, amid muted criticism that lawmakers are picking winners and losers in the state’s lagging economy.

The deal includes $20 million a year over the first five years in credits for corporate and sales taxes as part of a calculus involving research-and-development expenses, capital costs, employment levels and total payroll.

For years five through 14 of the deal, $33.3 million a year would be available under the program, which would be administered by the state Department of Economic and Community Development. In exchange, UTC would invest $500 million in capital projects, including a new headquarters in East Hartford and a new 500,000-square-foot customer training center in Windsor Locks.

As part of the deal, announced earlier this year by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, UTC’s Sikorsky Aircraft would remain in Stratford for five years in exchange for $50 million in tax credits. The complicated deal has to be completed by June 30 of next year.

http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/UTC-tax-incentives-also-benefit-Sikorsky-5411208.php

REVOLVING DOOR
50 out of 64 United Technologies lobbyists in 2013 have previously held government jobs

http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000209

MEMBERS WHO OWN UNITED TECHNOLOGIES SHARES: 24
Boehner, John (R-OH)
Buchanan, Vernon (R-FL)
Camp, Dave (R-MI)
Collins, Susan M (R-ME)
Fitzpatrick, Michael G (R-PA)
Frankel, Lois J (D-FL)
Hagan, Kay R (D-NC)
Harkin, Tom (D-IA)
Hatch, Orrin G (R-UT)
Isakson, Johnny (R-GA)
Kelly, Mike (R-PA)
Kennedy, Joe III (D-MA)
King, Angus (I-ME)
Larson, John B (D-CT)
Marchant, Kenny (R-TX)
McCaskill, Claire (D-MO)
McCaul, Michael (R-TX)
Price, David (D-NC)
Renacci, Jim (R-OH)
Rogers, Hal (R-KY)
Sensenbrenner, F James Jr (R-WI)
Sessions, Pete (R-TX)
Whitehouse, Sheldon (D-RI)
Yarmuth, John A (D-KY)

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