Panel II of a Hearing of the Air and Land Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee - The Source Selection and Path Forward Regarding the Air Force KC-(X) Program
Press Release
REP. JOE COURTNEY (D-CT): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Secretary Young, I'm sure you probably don't want to keep sort of going back to this question of objectivity. But frankly, for people watching this hearing in the public, I think there are still a lot of questions about Secretary Gates's decision to have your office now in charge of this, given the fact that your office has a history in terms of the prior decision. And I'm still a little unclear, from your testimony so far, about exactly what the involvement of your office was in the last go-around.
You described earlier that it was sort of late in the game. And I just wonder if you can help me understand what you mean by that. Are you saying that your office sort of did an after-the-fact review after the Air Force completed its process? Or was your office involved at an earlier stage?
MR. YOUNG: There was an enormous amount of history that preceded me. I became acting in July. I was confirmed by the Senate in November. The members of the staff in that office worked with the Air Force through this process and the way we work with people on every acquisition.
I took the step in December of asking a small team in my office to go and observe the source selection process. They had a limited amount of time. They did not have the kind of time to comb through in the level of detail that the GAO did. And I think that's probably the answer as to why we did not find these things, because we had highly qualified people go and start to observe the process, but not do it from the beginning, and they did not spend 120 days in the hearing process that GAO did.
But in the end, my team's primary role was to observe that process. They made suggestions to the Air Force that the Air Force corrected, and I think you will hear that from Secretary Payton. But they did not participate in making the source selection decision. I did not participate in making the source selection decision.
REP. COURTNEY: And your testimony is that basically they started to get involved in this process in December of '07 with a decision in February.
MR. YOUNG: But they were looking at it from the point of view of was the Air Force properly evaluating the proposals. I did not want us to make basic mistakes in evaluating the proposals or grading. I wanted to be able to assure fairness. Those are the kind of questions that I asked my team to make sure that everyone was being treated equally and fairly.
REP. COURTNEY: And in terms of the people who were involved in it, I mean, is it your intention to have those individuals continue or to take on this task from this point forward, the same people?
MR. YOUNG: I would expect those same people to, again, provide independent oversight. I have not put those people on -- or Secretary Gates has not put those people on the Source Selection Advisory Committee.
That's a new set of people.
REP. COURTNEY: So that's a completely different cast of characters --
MR. YOUNG: Yes, sir.
REP. COURTNEY: -- who were not in any way connected to the prior decision.
MR. YOUNG: That's correct. All the joint people we're putting on the panel were in no way connected. And we are seeking to have people -- the Air Force people that will be on that panel, we're seeking to have people that were not involved in the previous source selection decision.
REP. COURTNEY: Well, again, as Mr. Skelton said, I think the secretary's decision and announcement yesterday certainly gave a lot of people the impression that we're starting with a clean new process. But given the fact that people have had contact with the prior decision, I think there's a lot of concern that's starting to surface now about really whether or not we're dealing with the same umpire, making the same call. And --
MR. YOUNG: Sir, all I can tell you is that discussion originates in a point of view that people in the Pentagon, in the acquisition team, have a bias as to what they want to buy. As I said in the beginning -- and I've issued notes to this effect -- the acquisition team does not favor any entity or any proposal or any company. The acquisition team takes the requirements and goes out and takes advantage of what has made America work.
We ask companies to propose creative and innovative and competitive ideas. We evaluate those ideas and make a source selection decision. I have "x" amount of expertise in the department to successfully pick a tanker.
I would tell you that one thing to do is go take people that have never touched or seen a tanker and have a source selection through that process. I mean, I have to use some of the expertise that's in the department to do this. And mostly I'm using expertise on the acquisition team. And indeed, we've made an effort, through the secretary's direction, to pick people for the Source Selection Advisory Committee that were not party to the first source selection, to get the very objectivity you seek.
REP. COURTNEY: Well, I think, you know, I hope, for your sake and our country's sake, you know, it all sort of plays out in a way that the confidence level is there. But to me, I can understand why some people would be concerned. But one other question, I guess, is just you testified earlier that there could be an amendment to the RFP, you know, given the --
MR. YOUNG: That's a term of art that we need to amend the RFP to address the GAO findings and make sure the requirements are -- we indicate -- well, to address the GAO findings.
REP. COURTNEY: And you indicated that would be something that would then be --
MR. YOUNG: Issued in draft form for comment.
REP. COURTNEY: By Congress as well.
MR. YOUNG: Congress (would then ?) review that.
REP. COURTNEY: And are you envisioning that by the end of September or October?
MR. YOUNG: It's my hope that we could issue the draft RFP -- my team cringes -- I say late July. They say early August. Every day here --
REP. ABERCROMBIE: Excuse me. Will you defer for a moment?
REP. COURTNEY: Sure.
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