US watchdog rebuffs Air Force on Boeing contract
The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Friday rejected an Air Force request to reconsider a ruling that faulted the way the service awarded a $1.2 billion contract to Boeing Co for depot maintenance of KC-135 refueling aircraft.
By Agencies |
WASHINGTON: The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Friday rejected an Air Force request to reconsider a ruling that faulted the way the service awarded a $1.2 billion contract to Boeing Co for depot maintenance of KC-135 refueling aircraft.
GAO, the audit arm of Congress that weighs federal contract disputes, said its original recommendations remain in effect, and it was up to the Air Force to respond. GAO ruling are not binding, but government agencies usually follow them.
The losing bidder that lodged the protest and still hopes to win the contract -- Alabama Aircraft Industries Inc, which was called Pemco Aviation Group Inc until it changed its name on Jan. 1 -- welcomed the decision.
In its December ruling, GAO said the Air Force had not documented a required analysis about the realism and potential risks of Boeing's final proposal revisions, and urged the service to go back and do that work. "The original decision and recommendations stand," said GAO spokesman Michael Golden.
"At this point, we'd expect that the Air Force would respond to the recommendations." Boeing spokesman Brian Ames said the company had not been briefed about the latest GAO ruling, but remained confident it would still be selected the winner at the end of the process. The decision was the latest in a string of such defeats for the Air Force, which had already been forced to redo a $15 billion helicopter competition also initially won by Boeing.
The Air Force had no immediate comment on the ruling, which comes as it is preparing to award a $40 billion contract for new refueling tankers to replace its fleet of aging KC-135s. Boeing is locked in a fierce battle with Northrop Grumman and its European partner EADS to win that contract, which is due to be awarded in late February.
The Air Force says it is working hard to ensure the tanker competition is clearly understood and does not result in a whole new set of protests. Congress scrapped an earlier tanker deal with Boeing in 2004 after a procurement scandal that sent two former Boeing executives to prison. Friday's decision let stand GAO's ruling of Dec. 27 in which it upheld in part the protest by Pemco, now called Alabama Aircraft Industries Inc.
In January, the Air Force countered that GAO had made a mistake in its decision and asked for a reversal.
The latest ruling was a "positive development," said Trent Wisecup, a spokesman for Alabama Aircraft Industries Inc, which maintains and modifies aircraft for the U.S. government and other customers. It also develops and manufactures rocket vehicles and control systems.
GAO, the audit arm of Congress that weighs federal contract disputes, said its original recommendations remain in effect, and it was up to the Air Force to respond. GAO ruling are not binding, but government agencies usually follow them.
The losing bidder that lodged the protest and still hopes to win the contract -- Alabama Aircraft Industries Inc, which was called Pemco Aviation Group Inc until it changed its name on Jan. 1 -- welcomed the decision.
In its December ruling, GAO said the Air Force had not documented a required analysis about the realism and potential risks of Boeing's final proposal revisions, and urged the service to go back and do that work. "The original decision and recommendations stand," said GAO spokesman Michael Golden.
"At this point, we'd expect that the Air Force would respond to the recommendations." Boeing spokesman Brian Ames said the company had not been briefed about the latest GAO ruling, but remained confident it would still be selected the winner at the end of the process. The decision was the latest in a string of such defeats for the Air Force, which had already been forced to redo a $15 billion helicopter competition also initially won by Boeing.
The Air Force had no immediate comment on the ruling, which comes as it is preparing to award a $40 billion contract for new refueling tankers to replace its fleet of aging KC-135s. Boeing is locked in a fierce battle with Northrop Grumman and its European partner EADS to win that contract, which is due to be awarded in late February.
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The Air Force says it is working hard to ensure the tanker competition is clearly understood and does not result in a whole new set of protests. Congress scrapped an earlier tanker deal with Boeing in 2004 after a procurement scandal that sent two former Boeing executives to prison. Friday's decision let stand GAO's ruling of Dec. 27 in which it upheld in part the protest by Pemco, now called Alabama Aircraft Industries Inc.
In January, the Air Force countered that GAO had made a mistake in its decision and asked for a reversal.
The latest ruling was a "positive development," said Trent Wisecup, a spokesman for Alabama Aircraft Industries Inc, which maintains and modifies aircraft for the U.S. government and other customers. It also develops and manufactures rocket vehicles and control systems.
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