Senate Armed Services Committee Considers Giveaway for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin in NDAA

Now, the Senate Armed Services Committee has gone a step further by proposing that the government allow for more than two contractors to service Lane 2 — the national-security sensitive lane.

Senate leaders are considering this Bezos bailout despite the fact that the House’s version of the NDAA, passed on June 21 deferred to the U.S. Air Force’s opinion. The Air Force has made it clear that it wants the government to select only two providers for Lane 2.

This change is being considered despite the fact that the national security community has warned that adding a third contractor to Lane 2 would endanger taxpayers and America’s national security.

In joint written testimony, U.S. Air Force Assistant Secretary Frank Calvelli and General David D. Thompson, Vice Chief of Space Operations for the Space Force, noted that the Air Force’s recommendation of “two fully certified launch service providers in one lane while allowing emerging providers to compete, when ready, for the DoD’s more risk-tolerant missions in another lane” will “provide Assured Access to Space” while “[protecting] capacity for the DoD’s less risk-tolerant missions.”

The Space Force also made it clear in a one-pager that adding a third provider would likely increase costs by over $5 billion and decrease incentive for bidders to provide price-competitive bids to the federal government.