OMB sides with Senate on Air Force tankers deal
The White House has weighed in on a dispute over language in the fiscal 2005 defense authorization law that Senate lawmakers say requires the Air Force to openly compete for any new acquisition of aerial refueling tankers.
In a memo last Friday obtained by CongressDaily, the Office of Management and Budget sided with the Senate's interpretation, which is contrary to assertions by House lawmakers that the Air Force can continue current efforts to acquire 100 tanker aircraft from the Boeing Co.
House lawmakers assured Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in an October letter that the Air Force could move forward with the current "program of record."
This was a reference to the multi-billion dollar effort to acquire Boeing tankers that has been on hold pending the outcome of government and independent investigations into alleged impropriety and unethical conduct during contract negotiations.
OMB said the recently enacted authorization act "revokes the authority of the Air Force to lease tanker aircraft, and requires full and open competition in any procurement of tanker aircraft."
Referring to a Nov. 19 letter from Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz to the Senate Armed Services Committee, the White House agency noted that Wolfowitz stated the Pentagon's intention "to require competition in any procurement under the new law."
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