Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Reuters.com
June 26, 2008 By Jim Wolf, Reuters
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday he has not yet decided whether to reopen a botched competition for a $35 billion Air Force refueling-tanker program that was awarded to Northrop Grumman Corp and Europe's EADS over Boeing Co.
"The way forward is one of the issues that we are talking about," Gates told reporters. "We clearly need to have an approach that has the confidence of the Congress and so we are looking at several options."
Gates said he was discussing unspecified options with John Young, the Pentagon's top weapons buyer, and Michael Donley, who became acting secretary of the Air Force last week.
The Government Accountability Office, a congressional umpire of federal bid protests, said June 18 the Air Force had made "significant errors" in the selection process. It urged the service to seek new proposals and rerun the contest.
"I haven't made any decisions yet, but ... I take the GAO report very seriously," Gates said. "They clearly pointed out some areas where we were deficient"
At stake is a deal for 179 tanker aircraft over 15 years valued at $35 billion, the first of three projected acquisition phases for what the Air Force calls its No. 1 purchase priority. Tankers are used to refuel warplanes in mid-air.
The GAO, in a fuller version of its findings Wednesday, said it believed Boeing would have had a "substantial chance of being selected" if not for flaws in weighing the rival bids.
Northrop Grumman responded: "What readers should note is that the suggestion that the procedural errors it found might have led to a different result is the standard language included in any sustained protest."
Gates said he needed to get "a better feel" for the GAO's criticism before determining for good whether he retained confidence in the Air Force procurement team led by Sue Payton, assistant secretary for acquisitions.
"I have confidence in the team until I see something to the contrary," said Gates, who forced the resignations this month of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and the service's top uniformed officer, Gen. Michael Moseley.
In ousting them, Gates cited lax oversight of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile parts.
The GAO said its analysis did not reflect a view as to the merits of the rival aircraft, but a critique of the Air Force's failure to assess the bids in line with its stated evaluation criteria and other mistakes.
"I know that there were a number of areas in which they found that the process was done correctly," Gates said in reply to a question. "And so, I need to weigh that, and so does the acting secretary," before determining if he retains confidence in the procurement team.
Separately, the Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said he would hold a July 15 hearing to examine Air Force actions in awarding the tanker contract.
Testifying will be Gene Dodaro, the GAO's acting chief, said Waxman, a California Democrat.
June 26, 2008 By Jim Wolf, Reuters
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday he has not yet decided whether to reopen a botched competition for a $35 billion Air Force refueling-tanker program that was awarded to Northrop Grumman Corp and Europe's EADS over Boeing Co.
"The way forward is one of the issues that we are talking about," Gates told reporters. "We clearly need to have an approach that has the confidence of the Congress and so we are looking at several options."
Gates said he was discussing unspecified options with John Young, the Pentagon's top weapons buyer, and Michael Donley, who became acting secretary of the Air Force last week.
The Government Accountability Office, a congressional umpire of federal bid protests, said June 18 the Air Force had made "significant errors" in the selection process. It urged the service to seek new proposals and rerun the contest.
"I haven't made any decisions yet, but ... I take the GAO report very seriously," Gates said. "They clearly pointed out some areas where we were deficient"
At stake is a deal for 179 tanker aircraft over 15 years valued at $35 billion, the first of three projected acquisition phases for what the Air Force calls its No. 1 purchase priority. Tankers are used to refuel warplanes in mid-air.
The GAO, in a fuller version of its findings Wednesday, said it believed Boeing would have had a "substantial chance of being selected" if not for flaws in weighing the rival bids.
Northrop Grumman responded: "What readers should note is that the suggestion that the procedural errors it found might have led to a different result is the standard language included in any sustained protest."
Gates said he needed to get "a better feel" for the GAO's criticism before determining for good whether he retained confidence in the Air Force procurement team led by Sue Payton, assistant secretary for acquisitions.
"I have confidence in the team until I see something to the contrary," said Gates, who forced the resignations this month of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and the service's top uniformed officer, Gen. Michael Moseley.
In ousting them, Gates cited lax oversight of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile parts.
The GAO said its analysis did not reflect a view as to the merits of the rival aircraft, but a critique of the Air Force's failure to assess the bids in line with its stated evaluation criteria and other mistakes.
"I know that there were a number of areas in which they found that the process was done correctly," Gates said in reply to a question. "And so, I need to weigh that, and so does the acting secretary," before determining if he retains confidence in the procurement team.
Separately, the Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said he would hold a July 15 hearing to examine Air Force actions in awarding the tanker contract.
Testifying will be Gene Dodaro, the GAO's acting chief, said Waxman, a California Democrat.