More from Senator McCain on Russian Rockets

Senator McCain continues to rail against congressional weakness in the face of Russian rocket imports.  In a Wall Street Journal editorial earlier this week, he noted:

Then the 2,000-page, unamendable, trillion-dollar omnibus spending bill was released in December. Congressional allies of ULA, including Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, sneaked a provision—behind closed doors and with no debate—into the bill that will effectively allow ULA to buy an unlimited number of Russian rocket engines.

So we will be funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to Moscow while Russia occupies Crimea and destabilizes Ukraine; menaces the Baltic States and some of America’s other NATO allies in Europe; violates the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty; sends weapons to Iran; and bombs U.S.-backed forces in Syria to prop up the murderous regime of Bashar Assad. All this for the benefit of ULA’s rocket plant in Alabama and one if its parent companies, Boeing, based in Illinois.

After shaming his peers, Senator McCain goes on to state "This must not stand." 

I wish Senator McCain success in moving the rocket business back home.  Sadly, the large space companies are more capitalistic than American-centered, and will be happy to fund any foreign government to help their bottom line.  The Congress should know better and understand the importance of a home-grown rocket industry.  We should look at all of the space and defense needs through this prism to ensure our national security comes first.  

Senator McCain is Upset About Russian Rocket Engines in the Budget

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.