Washington ? Kansas lawmakers offered a bill Thursday that would forbid the Pentagon from spending money to build new refueling tankers unless the agency awards a disputed $35 billion contract to Boeing Co. or reopens the bidding process.

The bill puts added pressure on the Air Force to abide by a Government Accountability Office report that found major flaws in the decision to award the lucrative contract to a Boeing rival.

“I urge the Air Force to respond quickly and not delay awarding the contract to Boeing, which represents the best tanker for the Air Force and the American taxpayer,” said Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., the bill’s lead sponsor in the House.

Investigators found that the Air Force made several mistakes in awarding the project to the team of Northrop and Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. The GAO recommended the service hold a new competition.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said this week he would oversee the decision on how the Air Force should respond to the GAO report, but did not indicate how long that would take. The Air Force has 60 days to respond to the report.

But Tiahrt and Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., are not willing to wait. Tiahrt represents the Wichita congressional district that includes Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, finishing site for work on the tankers if Boeing should win the contract.

“The GAO report indicates that this should be an easy decision for the Air Force,” said Roberts, who sponsored the bill in the Senate.

The legislation offered by Tiahrt and Roberts also would require the Defense Department to consider national security and impact on the U.S. industrial base in any new competition. Those factors would weigh heavily in favor of Boeing.

Lawmakers from Kansas and Washington state – where most of Boeing’s new tanker construction would take place – have led the charge to reverse the Air Force decision.

Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Ala., blasted the bill for trying to poach the tanker decision from experienced military leaders. Alabama lawmakers have rallied behind the Northrop/EADS team, which would build much of the aircraft in Alabama and bring thousands of new jobs to the South.

“Some in Congress have repeatedly tried to pre-empt regular order and take this decision away from the war fighter,” Bonner said. “The Pentagon is now on a 60-day clock to decide what to do about the GAO ruling. I urge my colleagues to let regular order prevail.”

In February, the Air Force selected Northrop/EADS to replace 179 Eisenhower-era aerial refueling planes. Boeing filed its protest with the GAO in March.

The tanker deal is the first of three Air Force contracts worth as much as $100 billion to replace an aging fleet of nearly 600 refueling tankers over the next 30 years.