Letter to The Honorable Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense

Letter

Letter to The Honorable Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense

BOND SPEARHEADS BIPARTISAN GROUP OF SENATE & HOUSE MEMBERS IN URGING PENTAGON TO ALLOW MORE TIME FOR TANKER DEAL

U.S. Senator Kit Bond today led a bipartisan group of Senate and House members in asking the Pentagon to get the tanker bid process right this time.

"Our warfighters and taxpayers deserve a full and fair competition and this tanker contract is too important to rush to failure for a third time," said Bond.

In a letter to U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, U.S. Senators Kit Bond (R-MO), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. House Representatives Norm Dicks (D-WA), John Shimkus (R-IL), Todd Akin (R-MO), Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) and Nancy Boyda (D-KS) urged the Department of Defense to allow more time for the revised request for proposal (RFP) for the replacement aerial fuel tankers to be vetted by the competitors and briefed to members of Congress. Last week, congressional staff were briefed on the components of the revised proposal generating several unanswered questions and concerns.

The full text of the letter sent by the bipartisan group of U.S. Senate and House members sent to Secretary Gates is attached and included below:

The Honorable Robert M. Gates
Secretary of Defense
The Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301-1000

Dear Secretary Gates,

As you are well aware the Pentagon's pursuit of a replacement aerial re-fueling tanker was derailed when the GAO upheld Boeing's protest of the $35 billion contract awarded to Northrop Grumman Corp. and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., parent to Airbus. The GAO found a number of significant errors that could have affected the outcome. We applauded your decisive action in ordering Pentagon officials to postpone action on initial award and issue a revised RFP.

We continue to place the highest priority on the support of the men and women of the Air Force and their continued service in guarding the security of our nation. We are keenly aware of the need to replace the KC-135 fleet with a capability that is commensurate with the nation's defense and security needs, both for today and for the decades to come. Our paramount goal in the KC-X competition is to help ensure that the right capability is provided to the warfighter and that the Department of Defense and the taxpayer receive the best value for their investment. However, only through a thorough understanding of the warfighter's requirements and the evaluation criteria to be used, can a full and fair competition be held and ultimately provide a superior product for the warfighter.

We remain very concerned about the overly aggressive timeline to arrive at a revised RFP. Air Force and OSD officials have already missed two opportunities to meet Air Force and DoD requirements for a replacement tanker and we believe that the current rush to come to agreement on a revised RFP is putting at risk the third opportunity for a successful decision. Why rush the process on such a critical program that has obviously been challenged by a bureaucratic process that is in need of dire reform?

Congressional staff were briefed just last week on components of the revised RFP yet many questions remain unanswered, such as Military Construction Costs, especially for Air National Guard units and the states that support the aerial refueling mission. In the Pentagon's rush to initiate an aggressive timeline the most critical component --- a clearly defined and understood revised RFP has not yet been fully achieved --- which is why we ask that you allow more time for the revised RFP, including the metrics involved, to be vetted by the competitors and briefed to members of Congress. This procurement is far too important to the warfighter, to the taxpayer, and to the credibility of the Department to rush to failure again.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Kit Bond
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill
U.S. Senator Pat Roberts
U.S. Senator Sam Brownback
U.S. Senator Patty Murray
U.S. Representative Norm Dicks
U.S. Representative Maria Cantwell
U.S. Representative John Shimkus
U.S. Representative Todd Akin
U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson
U.S. Representative Nancy Boyda