Air Force Tanker Replacement

Every day, the men and women of our Armed Services place themselves in harm's way for our nation.  We owe them our deepest respect, reverence, and gratitude, and we are obliged to provide them with the tools necessary to perform the task at hand as effectively and safely as possible.  However, corruption and acquisition mishaps have left our warfighters stuck in the antiquated KC-135 aerial refueling tankers originally procured by the Eisenhower administration.  Aerial refueling tankers play a crucial role in establishing air supremacy over a combat zone, and it is unacceptable to ask our warfighters to perform this daunting task with anything less than the finest equipment.

The Air Force issued a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) on September 25, 2009.     I am disappointed that this most recent draft RFP creates a cost shootout where the lowest priced bid wins, regardless of additional capabilities offered – capabilities that could save the lives of our warfighters.  It is a sham that will leave our warfighters and the American taxpayer vulnerable to a politicized procurement process.  Such a race to the bottom is unworthy of our men and women in uniform. 

I will continue to advocate for a fair and transparent acquisition process that would allow the Pentagon to procure the tanker that provides the most capability for the warfighter and the best value for the taxpayer.  But before we can accomplish this, the draft RFP must be rewritten to ensure that the taxpayer and the warfighter are equally protected.  We cannot have our military flying in paper airplanes simply because it is cheaper.