By Emelie Rutherford
Boeing supporters in Congress warned yesterday if the Air Force does not heed the Government Accountability Office’s call to reopen the tanker contract competition between Boeing [BA] and Northrop Grumman [NOC]–or outright award Boeing the contract–they will intervene.
The lawmakers from Washington, Kansas, and Missouri–where Boeing has a strong presence–also highlighted concerns they have about criteria used in evaluating contracts such as the tanker one, and said legislative changes are in the works.
The GAO announced yesterday it is sustaining Boeing’s protest of the Air Force’s Feb. 29 contract award to a Northrop Grumman-European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS) team for aerial refueling tankers, and recommended the service reopen the bid process.
Congressional backers of Northrop Grumman’s tanker contract, meanwhile, said they were shocked– though shared no specific plans yesterday for attempting to keep the contract with Northrop Grumman.
Boeing supporter Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said the Air Force should reopen the competition or outright award the contract to Boeing.
“We expect them to make the right decision for this country, and if they don’t then I expect Congress to act,” said Murray, a member of Senate leadership.
Lawmakers said they expect the Air Force to make its plans clear in 60 days. Under law, “the Air Force is given 60 days to inform the GAO of the Air Force’s actions in response to GAO’s recommendations,” according to a GAO press release.
Because the Air Force leadership is in flux–following the recent resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley–Murray predicted “it will probably be in the lap of Secretary Gates.”
Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), vice chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, called for the Air Force to give the tanker contract right to Boeing.
“We had competition, so the only problem here was the Air Force picked the wrong competitor,” Dicks said. “And now they have a chance to correct that. They could award this contract to Boeing. And if they want tankers, if that’s their number-one priority, and they want them as fast as they can get them, that’s the most direct way to do it.”
Dicks said if “the Air Force doesn’t get it right, I’m going to reserve all my options as a member of the Appropriations Committee to offer amendments and do anything I can to stop this thing from going forward.”
A group of 13 House and Senate lawmakers giddily hailed the GAO decision an afternoon press conference yesterday at the Capitol, where Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), held a sign declaring “vindication.”
Several of the legislators pointed to issues the GAO did not consider, such as government subsidies EADS company Airbus received and concerns about protecting America’s industrial base.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) pointed to “national-security issues” she said were not addressed, and said: “Throughout the rest of this process we will continue to raise those concerns as well, to make sure that the Air Force addresses those issues.”
Cantwell noted concerns with the process the Air Force used, including not ensuring the Northrop Grumman tanker can refuel all needed planes in the current Air Force fleet and not considering lifecycle costs.
Lawmakers said legislation and amendments are under consideration.
“We have a lot of options in front of us, but significantly we want to know that the Air Force is going to move forward and make a good decision, and based on that we’ll decide what we need to do,” said Murray, a member of the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee.
“We have considered amendments, but I think the ball is truly in the Air Force’s court here,” Tiahrt said, questioning if there are problems with other defense procurements.
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said he and Tiahrt planned to offer “sense of the Senate” and “sense of the House” resolutions that the Air Force quickly declare it will rebid the tanker contract.
Lawmakers supportive of Northrop Grumman’s contract said yesterday they were surprised and sympathized with the situation the Air Force is now in.
Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) said he doesn’t “believe this ruling signals the end of Alabama’s hopes for building tankers for the Air Force.”
“It does mean, however, that we have more work to do,” Bonner said in a statement, saying he looked forward to learning more about the GAO’s rationale in the coming days, and hearing from the Air Force.
Bonner noted that “the GAO was clear that its decision ‘should not be read to reflect a view as to the merits of the firms’ respective aircraft.'”
“Despite the uncertainty caused by the GAO ruling, a couple of things seem clear: the Air Force desperately needs a new tanker to replace a fleet nearing 50 years old, and the Air Force still believes the Northrop Grumman/EADS tanker best meets its needs,” Bonner said.
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said in a statement: “I cannot believe that in the most highly scrutinized procurement in the history of the United States Air Force the GAO found so many errors. The fact that the Air Force will likely have to go back to square one on the warfighter’s number one priority is very disturbing.”
Lawmakers said they looked forward to hearing more from the GAO, because they had only seen a three-page press release a three-page statement from the GAO. The GAO’s 69-page decision was issued under a protective order, because the decision contains proprietary and source-selection sensitive information.
“We have directed counsel for the parties to promptly identify information that cannot be publicly released so that we can expeditiously prepare and release, as soon as possible, a public version of the decision,” the GAO said in the statement.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) was among the members of Congress who had not been intricately involved in the tanker feud but spoke out yesterday.
Levin said the GAO decision “reveals serious errors in the Air Force’s handling of this critically important competition.”
“We now need not only a new full, fair and open competition in compliance with the GAO recommendations, but also a thorough review of–and accountability for–the process that produced such a flawed result,” the SASC chairman said in a statement.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) spokesman deferred comment to Murray.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was not able to respond, through a spokesman, yesterday. Congressional leaders were busy working on the war supplemental bill that is expected to hit the House floor today.