The U.S. Air Force is negotiating with Boeing to lay the legal groundwork necessary to lift the sanctions levied against the company for ethical misconduct, according to Peter Teets, Air Force undersecretary for space.

"We are in the process right now in our Air Force legal department of trying to construct with Boeing an administrative framework that, once in place, would allow us to proceed with confidence that they are now a responsible contractor ... and therefore lift the suspension," Teets said during a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing in Washington March 25.

Boeing was suspended from competing for Air Force contracts last July as a result of ethical misconduct on the part of some employees during the competition with Lockheed Martin for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program.

Although he would not speculate on when the sanctions might be lifted, Teets said he is confident Boeing will emerge as a trustworthy contractor.

"I feel very confident that Boeing now, under the leadership of Harry Stonecipher, is taking these ethics violations very seriously," Teets told lawmakers. "They recognize that a vitally important part of their business depends on their ability to properly deal with the United States government ... I am confident that they will indeed emerge from this suspension as a healthy, responsible contractor."

Stonecipher took the reins at Boeing following the resignation of CEO Phil Condit last fall (DAILY, Dec. 2, 2003).