Connecticut Delegation Requests Detailed Briefing on U.S. Army's Decision to Reject Sikorsky Bid for FLRAA

[HARTFORD, CT] – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, and U.S. Representatives Rosa DeLauro, John Larson, Joe Courtney, Jim Himes and Jahana Hayes today announced they have requested a detailed briefing by the U.S. Army about why Sikorsky’s bid to build long-range assault aircraft was rejected.

The Connecticut delegation has approached the U.S. Army leadership on multiple occasions to discuss how the Army came to their original decision on the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft and to date, the Army has rejected requests for a substantive briefing.

“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. 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,” the delegation wrote.

A full copy of the letter can be found below:

The Honorable Christine Wormuth Secretary of the Army

101 Army Pentagon

Washington, D.C. 20310

Dear Secretary Wormuth:

We want to thank you for your stewardship and continued dedication to the Department of the Army, as well as to our Soldiers, Army Civilians, and their families.

We are writing regarding Sikorsky’s bid and the subsequent Government Accountability Office (GAO) protest to the award for the Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program. As you may be aware, there has been a considerable amount of confusion and valid criticism surrounding the award. It is our understanding that Sikorsky’s bid for FLRAA was significantly superior in terms of cost, but that due to a subjective unsatisfactory evaluation on a single criteria, Sikorsky’s bid was rejected and never fully evaluated.

The members of the Connecticut Congressional Delegation have approached the Army’s leadership on multiple occasions to discuss the matter. To date, the Army has rejected any request for a substantive briefing in direct violation of Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 3.104-4 and falsely claimed that a potential or pending GAO protest precludes timely oversight from the United States Congress. Furthermore, the Department of the Army has cited no statutory basis for withholding information from Congress and the GAO has confirmed that no part of the pending protest prevents the Army from briefing Members of Congress.

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. 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.

We appreciate your timely attention to this important matter and look forward to your response.

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