Posted on 01/31/2005 5:39:14 PM PST by nypokerface
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After leading an investigation that helped kill a $23.5 billion U.S. Air Force plan to lease Boeing Co. tankers, Sen. John McCain has now set his sights on a $100 billion Army project in which Boeing has a major role.
The Arizona Republican, poised to chair the Airland Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has raised concerns about the Army's Future Combat Systems project, according to sources close to McCain.
Chicago-based Boeing and Science Applications International Corp. are managing 23 other companies working on the program, which has already been subjected to numerous independent audits the Army says have given it a clean bill of health.
But McCain plans to carefully scrutinize the Army program during expected hearings on defense procurement this year, the sources said. And he is continuing to pursue and deepen his dogged investigation of the tanker deal.
McCain complained to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a letter dated Jan. 29 that the Pentagon's production of documents for the congressional investigation "has been riddled by disruption, obfuscation and delay."
"It is growing increasingly clear that some in the Department of Defense or the Air Force may be trying to stymie this effort," McCain said, noting the Pentagon had only produced partial documents for seven of 36 requested areas.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the department was "trying to be as responsive as possible" to McCain's concerns.
McCain last year had put a hold on several nominations for civilian Pentagon jobs until key documents were produced, and defense officials want to avoid further problems.
In October, Congress scrapped the deal to lease 20 tankers and buy 80 more after the former No. 2 Air Force acquisitions official, Darleen Druyun, admitted she had agreed to a higher price as a "parting gift" to Boeing.
Boeing took a $275 million charge for the cost of the tanker deal, including expected supplier obligations, in hopes of putting the matter to rest after three years of scrutiny.
But McCain is still studying hundreds of thousands of pages of e-mails about the deal, all the while pressing the Pentagon to provide many others.
In his letter, McCain said he only recently learned the Pentagon had never made any attempt to recover deleted e-mails and other records on the tanker deal, despite Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz's order last August to search for and produce "any documents responsive" to McCain's request.
He asked Rumsfeld to identify by Feb. 8 which individual had decided not to look for deleted files and to explain why that decision was made. He said that decision could amount to obstruction of the congressional investigation.
McCain cited a new report in which the Pentagon's inspector general found neither the Pentagon nor the Air Force had an adequate electronic record-keeping or retrieval system that "captures 100 percent of the requested e-mails."
The lack of such a system impeded Congress' ability to oversee weapons programs and could even violate federal statutes on government record-keeping, McCain said.
The Project on Government Oversight called McCain's ongoing investigation "congressional oversight at its best."
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has put off briefing lawmakers on an analysis of alternatives for replacing the aging fleet of KC-135 tankers until late spring, while the California-based Rand Corp. does additional research on several issues, two defense officials said.
What does McCain want them to do, buy Airbuses?
Is this more of the Daschle family profiteering on government contracts? Why is it just now coming to light?
You probably want to read this.
The tanker deal was a bad deal for the Air Force. Boeing has lost their way recently seeking to buy political influence and stealing competitor's secrets.
IIRC, the *lease program* was a Linda/ Little Tommie Dass-hole scam; the purchase would have been better and less expensive for US Taxpayers. Good riddance to it. The LSM (lame stream media) ignored the crap out of it.
Sounds like he's trying to save us some money, which I will never criticize even if it is McCain
I see it daily. Rotten, rotten company. They don't put America's defense first. They don't even put profit first! They put arrogance and political influence first....
Great McLaim! Cripple the Future Force to puff up your pathetic ego!
Bugger Off. I work for Boeing, and we are highly ethical as a company, and we DO look out for your money and your welfare. We have had some close scrutiny on some very stupid dealings by FORMER employees and, frankly, I am getting mighty pissed that the whole company gets painted with the nasty brush.
You will find no company more concerned than Boeing when it comes to providing a quality product at a good value for the government dollar. You may call me biased on this issue, but I have worked for one other large aerospace company during my career, and I know from experience what "rotten" is!
Yeah, you're probably right. I despise McCain, but Boeing has indeed lost its way. It used to be one of America's greatest companies, but no longer.
Still the question arises, what other choices are there? Boeing was one of the few good planemakers left; now there aren't a lot of alternatives.
You posted after I started writing my earlier reply.
I sympathize with you. Boeing has been historically a great American company and the best plane maker since the end of the Second World War.
I'm sure there are still a lot of good people there. But I can't say the same for the current leadership.
Yes
Either McCain, or his wife, should be a registered lobbyist for the European Union.
France will give them a different deal. Then the Air Force can be like the French and your children/grandchildren, should you have any, can serve the French and Germans.
I work exclusively on Boeing airliners now. I have worked on Airbus, Douglas and Lockheed in the past. Boeing is a great product all around.
BWAHAHAHAHA!!! If you gotta say it, you ain't....
I've seen your 'ethics' training. Especially the part about not leaving a document trail if it is ethically sketchy....
'The Integration Company' snicker, snicker.
They were dragged kicking and screaming to build the 'Dreamliner'.
Their plan was to just be 'The Integration Company', not actually to build stuff. Of course, the thing they are particularly bad at is integration and system engineering because now the weasel management holds complete sway over the engineers.
They don't believe in engineers--just 'managing' a product into existence.
I think the DoD needs to adopt as many common commercial Boeing airframes for military applications. That way DoD can leverage commercial spares and engines in a time of war and keep peacetime maintenance costs low. What the hell is McCain up to????
"But I can't say the same for the current leadership."
I will agree with Cogadh na Sith on one thing, our focus on integration over creation has been a problem, and we've been trying to get reality pushed up the chain... but you know how easy it is to push a chain, right? ;(
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