Sen. McCain asks questions at a Senate Armed Services Committee in 2014. (credit: Department of Defense)
On Wednesday, a senior executive with United Launch Alliance said the US military "bent over backward" to favor the Colorado-based rocket company in the bidding process for national security payload launches. On Thursday Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, asked Secretary of Defense Ash Carter to investigate these comments.
"Let me just say that yesterday disturbing statements made by a senior executive of the United Launch Alliance were reported in the media," McCain said at the onset of a committee hearing Thursday morning. "These statements raise troubling questions about the nature of the relationship between the Department of Defense and ULA. This committee treats with the utmost seriousness and implication that the department showed favoritism to a major defense contractor, or that efforts have been made to silence members of congress. Mr. Secretary I expect that you will make a full investigation into these statements and take action wherever appropriate."
McCain was referring to comments made by Brett Tobey, a vice president of engineering for United Launch Alliance, during a seminar with students at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Tobey has since resigned, effective immediately, and ULA chief executive Tory Bruno has said Tobey's comments were "inaccurate."
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