U.S. Air Force to rebid the $35 billion tanker contract
The U.S. Air Force will rebid the $35 billion contract to build new refueling tankers, Congressman Todd Tiahrt's office says.
A decision is expected by Dec. 31 from the office of the Secretary of Defense — not the Air Force.
The awarding of the contract to Northrop Grumman Corp. earlier this year was met with criticism both nationally and locally, where hundreds of jobs would have been created under Boeing's proposal.
Last month, a Government Accountability Office report said Boeing Co. might have won the contract if the Air Force had not made mistakes in evaluating the competing bids. The GAO recommended the service hold a new competition.
The contract, one of the largest tanker deals in Pentagon history, is the first of three Air Force contracts worth up to $100 billion to replace nearly 600 refueling tankers over the next 30 years.
Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts and Tiahrt were among lawmakers from Washington who have pressured the Air Force to reopen the bidding process and cancel the contract with Northrop Grumman Corp. and Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.
On Tuesday, Sen free instant credit score estimator no fax payday loan. Patty Murray, D-Wash., introduced a Senate resolution calling on the Pentagon to rebid the flawed tanker contract.
The resolution was cosponsored by Sens. Roberts, Kit Bond, R-Mo., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
On June 25, the Government Accountability Office issued a report saying that Northrop Gruman Corp.'s $35 billion tanker bid to the U.S. Air Force may have been ineligible.
And a week earlier, the GAO upheld Boeing's protest of the Air Force's decision.
The GAO's 67-page report said Northrop missed key Defense Department parameters. It also said the Air Force had penalized Boeing. The report explains the details of the GAO's ruling that the bidding may need to be reopened because of numerous flaws in how the Defense Department contract was awarded.