Members of Connecticut's Congressional delegation are taking the U.S. Army to task for its decision to deny its request for a briefing outlining the decision to reject Lockheed-Martin's Sikorsky bid to build long-range assault aircraft.
In December, the U.S. Army chose the Textron-owned company Bell to build a new aircraft that will replace the Sikorsky-produced UH-60 Black Hawk, which has been flying soldiers since the 1970s.
Sikorsky and Boeing – who helps with the aircraft’s construction – protested the Army’s decision and filed a complaint with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the Army’s decision on the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft contract.
In a statement when it was announced, the Army called the decision-making process "deliberate and disciplined."
Last month, the delegation sought details into the Army’s decision and requested a briefing from the Army’s leadership to outline why Sikorsky’s bid was "rejected and never fully evaluated."
"We believe it is imperative that the Army’s procurement process for the FLRAA program is fair, transparent, and most importantly in the best interests of the American taxpayer," the delegation said in a joint letter sent last month. "We therefore insist that your Department provide us with a detailed briefing on the Army’s evaluation and selection decision for FLRAA as soon as possible. It is simply unacceptable for the Army to continue to thwart our oversight responsibilities as members of Congress that are mandated in the U.S. Constitution."
On Thursday, Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Chris Murphy said the Army had once again denied the delegation’s request for a briefing.
"Is this because the price of the Bell helicopter is sky-high compared to the Sikorsky bid? Why doesn’t the Army want Congress to know this?" Murphy said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, DeLauro said in a statement that it was "outrageous" that they have been "continually denied information on how the Army made their decision."
"Yet Congress will be expected to foot the bill at the end of the day. Lawmakers, hard-working families in Connecticut, and Sikorsky’s manufacturing workers deserve to be informed on how this decision was made and why. This is impacting labor and jobs right here in Stratford, Connecticut," she said. "At the end of the day, Congress is charged with responsibly allocating taxpayer dollars. As Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee, I take that responsibility very seriously. Our investments must be smart. Once again, I urge the Army to be forthcoming on how this decision was made."
