TOPICS
TOPICS
Texans mount campaign to keep Army truck contract
Texas lawmakers and other officials have launched a Web site intended to mobilize public support to overturn the Army's decision to award a lucrative truck contract to Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Corp.
The site, DefendTexasJobs.org, is the product of a task force set up in recent weeks by state and local officials, business leaders and members of Congress to make the case that BAE Systems, which has been building the Army's Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, should continue producing the trucks at its plant in Sealy, Texas, just west of Houston.
BAE Systems is protesting the contract award -- a five-year deal whose price tag could total as much as $3 billion -- to the Government Accountability Office, which is expected to issue a ruling in mid-December.
The task force, which includes Texas Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison and GOP Rep. Michael McCaul, boasts on its site of BAE's success with the truck program. It says the FMTV program has contributed $500 million annually to the state economy and warns that losing the contract will cost the Sealy area 3,000 jobs.
The group's campaign, which provides templates for letters that supporters can write to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Army Secretary John McHugh, is reminiscent of efforts by Boeing Co. supporters during the firm's protest last year of the Air Force's decision to select Northrop Grumman Corp. and EADS to build aerial refueling tankers.
Boeing also has had success teaming up with subcontractors and labor unions to win congressional support for continued production of C-17 cargo aircraft.
But it is unclear whether such public campaigns have any sway on proceedings to consider contract protests, which focus on whether the selection process was flawed. GAO officials, who conduct their reviews largely in secret, do not weigh unsolicited input from concerned citizens or consider the impact of the contract award on local economies.
Wisconsin's congressional delegation last month criticized BAE supporters for "blatant efforts to affect the outcome of this independent, quasi-judicial review by attempting to raise protest issues through a public media campaign and through improper contact with Department of Defense officials."
As is typical of winning bidders, Oshkosh has been quiet about the contract protest. But Oshkosh CEO Robert Bohn said in a statement Tuesday that he is confident that the competition for the trucks was fair and objective.
"We expect that U.S. taxpayers will receive improved value and that U.S. soldiers will benefit from Oshkosh's expertise as a producer of high quality, high performance tactical wheeled vehicles," he said.
COMMENTS
- I went after Texas because George was from there but thats not fair. You guys are right the north has always been corrupt with politics and unions. And recent Govenors that are being jailed shows America nothing has changed but I will have to say one thing has changed the unions view on who really has the power. They are on their knees all across this nation selling out the youth everytime they come to the table. How did our leadership ever think sending our industrial base to other 3rd world countries would be good for any of us. Yes in the mid west in the late 70s you had guys running a lathe that lived like the CEO not saying that was right but to ship everything off is criminal where are the kids going to work so they can achieve the dream. We cant compete with people who live in mud huts Americans will have to give up to much but all of us from Texas to Wisconsin need to keep an eye on where this is going. We cant be fighting over a few jobs when the big picture should really be all of us united and bring our industrial base back so we all have jobs. If you say that cant happen then it wont but if you believe in the power of the people and not politics it can happen and our children just may be able to achieve the dream and not have to live with their parents forever or in mud huts one day. This country is a mess right now we are busy helping eveyone but ourselves not sure what the answer is but fighting over a few jobs that we feel belong in a geographic area is not it. We have let our political machine over the past 30 years destroy the American way of life so a few could profit we need to turn the corner on that I think the unions get it i think industry gets it we can be re born just depends on how bad Americans want it. And yes to all about Illinois and its corruption I am ashamed but if you watch the news my new leadership is proud of their corrruption thats obvious. I think I should move before Chicago machine takes all the money. LC Posted November 18, 2009 1:38 PM
- Dale, You are incorrect. Oshkosh has a requirement for their heavy vehicles (HEMTT and PLS) for 15,000 mean miles between hardware failure. They currently exceed this. Scott Posted November 9, 2009 4:48 PM
- For all those heroic contractors, and their patrons in Congress, think of what you have turned defense hardware contracts into: a jobs program. So there is scant thought about military need or saving the taxpayers some money. And in the case of BAE and these vehicles, the politicians would rather foist questionable vehicles on the troops than get a good buy from a legitimate contract winner. Way to go. Brat Wurst Posted November 5, 2009 7:26 PM
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