SEATTLE — Boeing lobbyists are throwing a “thank you” party for Washington state lawmakers who helped provide the company with billions in tax breaks.
An invitation obtained by The Associated Press shows Boeing executives are hosting a reception for lawmakers Wednesday evening at a house across the street from the Capitol campus in Olympia. The invitation to lawmakers says the event will “thank you for your efforts to land the 777X in Washington state.”
Last year, the Legislature approved an extension of Boeing tax breaks in a deal worth an estimated $8.7 billion. Lawmakers swiftly approved the idea in a special session, which put pressure on union workers to accept a contract that transitioned them away from pension plans.
Democratic Rep. Reuven Carlyle, who helped guide the tax package through the Legislature, said he declined to attend Boeing events late last year — such as a dinner with company officials — when lawmakers were considering the deal. He said those early events didn’t feel appropriate, but he had no objections to lawmakers attending Boeing’s reception this week now that time has passed.