With the new Federal budget opening the door again to the previously banned Russian RD-180 rocket engine, Senator McCain, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, was not happy at all as expressed in his statement of the floor of the Senate:
This is outrageous. And it is shameful. And it is the height of hypocrisy, especially for my colleagues who claim to care about the plight of Ukraine and the need to punish Russia for its aggression. How can our government tell European governments that they need to hold the line on maintaining sanctions on Russia, which is far harder for them to do than us, when we are gutting our own policy in this way? How can we tell our French allies, in particular, that they should not sell Vladimir Putin amphibious assault ships, as we have, and then turn around and try to buy rocket engines from Putin’s cronies? Again, this is the height of hypocrisy.
Excellent points, yet Senator Shelby from Alabama was not deterred by Senator McCain's remarks and
defended his middle-of-the-night manuever:
I’m the first one to argue that we should not be dependent upon any
foreign power for access to space — especially in the national security
arena. I have already worked to secure more than $300 million in funding
for the development of an American-made rocket engine. However,
recklessly restricting the use of the RD-180 in the near-term will
undermine both national security and the prospects for real competition
in the military launch business.
I expect the United Launch Alliance believes Senator Shelby has been good this year and will properly reward him with a little something extra in his Christmas stocking.
