[Former Military Chick]

It may not be pleasant but I do agree we need to talk about it. Manzullo has some interesting thoughts on the subject.

I am kind of tired now but once I am recharged I am sure I will have some type of opinion on the subject.

[Gunrunner2]

Congress writes acquisition law. All acquisitions are done in accordance with laws written by congress. If this yahoo wants the DoD to only consider US firms, then re-write the law, otherwise the DoD has its hands tied on the subject.

I would like to see a US-only approach but the DoD simply can't do that. Open competitive bids are the norm, sole source (SBA or 8A) are exceptions, and the norm allows for non-US bidders.

[jumperbones]

This Yahoo, as you call him, has an extremely valid point. It's extremely important to maintain our ability to produce those products that support our military. Do you think for a minute that if we are at war with a country that supplies needed products for our weapons systems, and they are a single source supplier, we will get the parts. This is a very dangerous road to go down.

[darth]

Getting the most bang for the taxpayer's buck means choosing the lowest bidder. That said, we are seeing situations where critical components are being produced exclusively by foreign firms, e.g., companies in the PRC controlled by the PLA! We are also seeing high attrition in the second and third tier of subcontractors domestically. The defense industrial base is in trouble. Congress needs to address this.

[Malesherbes]

One of the great "benefits" of globalization is that we no longer produce in this country everything we need to support a modern military, especially electronics. Check the country of origin of most consumer electronics - same is true of military components.

[hchutch]

"For a particular JSF component that required milling, he said, Northrop Grumman turned to a company from Spain, not one of the countries in the consortium, instead of a manufacturer in Manzullo's congressional district."

Anyone want to bet that the manufacturer who lost the contract went whining to the guy he sends campaign donations to?