Newsday report
Lawmakers renew fight over presidential helicopter award
February 9, 2005, 8:56 PM EST
WASHINGTON
-- After a tense meeting with Navy Secretary Gordon England on Wednesday, Connecticut lawmakers said they will expand their efforts to overturn the decision denying Sikorsky Aircraft the contract to build the next presidential helicopter fleet.
The members of Congress also said the meeting re-energized them and they will try to divert some of the contract funding to Stratford, Conn.-based Sikorsky for research and development, despite Navy resistance. If that fails, they said they would try to find other money to funnel to Sikorsky so it can better compete for Air Force and Marine helicopter contracts in the future.
The nearly two-hour meeting in the Capitol building was described as a heated _ and at times loud _ interrogation of England and Navy Assistant Secretary John Young.
Two weeks ago, the Navy announced that the winning bidder for the $6.1 billion, 23 helicopter contract was Maryland-based Lockheed Martin and its international partners, including the British-Italian company, AgustaWestland. Lockheed's US101 has several components, including the main transmission and rotor blades, that will be built overseas.
The contract has triggered animated debate over buy-America issues.
"We're all pretty damn angry," said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., who said he will hold hearings on the matter if congressional investigators find problems with the contract's security considerations.
The Government Accountability Office is investigating whether having foreign employees working on the helicopter program overseas meets the strict security requirements needed for construction of an aircraft that will carry the president.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., has already introduced legislation requiring the Marine One fleet to be entirely American made. And Sens. Christopher J. Dodd and Joe Lieberman, both D-Conn., said they will introduce a similar bill in the Senate.
While they acknowledged they did not change the Navy's decision, they said they will try to get the development money in the contract split between the two companies. The fear, lawmakers said, is that Lockheed will have an edge in future military contracts because of the government-funded research in the Marine One program.
The congressional delegation also took issue with the criteria set by the White House and used by the Navy to make the decision. They said that while the Navy agreed that Sikorsky's VH-92 Super Hawk was a better performing aircraft, the Lockheed helicopter's cabin was bigger and best fit the requirements.
Lockheed's US101 is longer and wider, and has three engines, while the Super Hawk has two engines.
DeLauro said she believes the White House deliberately set the requirements so that the contract could be awarded to the international group as a way to thank Britain and Italy for their support in the Iraq war. British and Italian political leaders lobbied President Bush to choose the Lockheed-AgustaWestland aircraft.
© Associated Press