McCaul to Discuss BAE Contract with Top Army Officials

AUSTIN – Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX 10) will meet with the Secretary of the Army and other high ranking Department of Defense officials when he returns to Washington this week to discuss the Army’s decision to award a military vehicle contract worth more than $3 billion to a company in Wisconsin. The Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) has been manufactured by BAE Systems in Sealy, TX for the last 17 years. The decision, which appears to have been made using a flawed procurement process, could cost BAE and the city 3,000 jobs.

"I will not sit idly by and allow jobs to be siphoned from our state,” said Rep. McCaul upon learning BAE’s decision to appeal the Army’s decision. “I will take the lead on the Texas delegation's efforts to ensure BAE Systems' appeal is handled with proper consideration. BAE Systems' employees in Sealy must be given ample opportunity to prove the superiority of their FMTV product that has become a reliable workhorse for our men and women in uniform over the last seventeen years.”

Since the Army notified BAE that it was not selected for the new contract August 28, a thorough analysis of the U.S. Army’s decision process was initiated. The results of the initial review reveal strong indications the Army did not properly evaluate the proposals consistent with the criteria it asked for in its Request for Proposal. As a result, and in a rare move for the company, BAE Systems is asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to reevaluate the decision. BAE believes a flawed process produced a flawed outcome.

“You just don’t produce 56,000 high quality, safe military vehicles and trailers at the most competitive price for 17 years and suddenly lose a contract. Something is wrong with this picture and I intend to find out what,” Rep. McCaul said. “I have a lot of concerns beyond the jobs in jeopardy. Suddenly shifting production of a vehicle that’s so heavily relied upon could result in delays getting these vehicles to our troops. There’s also the cost the Army will incur from a new vendor that has to start its operation from scratch.”

Congressman McCaul met with BAE’s Sealy leadership team the day the Army’s decision was announced to assure them he would take all actions necessary to have the company’s proposal reexamined. Sealy and Austin County lie in the heart of the 10th Congressional District McCaul has represented since 2005.