Lawmakers Seek Review of Pentagon Contract Thought to Favor Amazon

Two Republican congressmembers are seeking a formal investigation into claims that the bidding process for a contentious $10 billion Pentagon contract was rigged in favor of Amazon. The contract in question would give one company full reign over the Defense Department's Joint Enterprise Defense Initiative, or JEDI Cloud, a program that the Pentagon has described as "truly about increasing the lethality of our department." JEDI is part of the DOD's quest to bring military operations into the modern era by partnering with a commercial cloud provider to streamline defense operations, upgrade data analytics programs using artificial intelligence, and provide soldiers with real-time mission data. In a letter to the Defense Department's Inspector General on Monday, House Appropriations committee members Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) and Steve Womack (R-Arkansas) accused military leaders of violating federal law and departmental ethics standards by moving forward with plans to award the JEDI contract to a single company despite extensive criticism from industry leaders and lawmakers. Womack is also chair of the House Budget Committee; Cole chairs an appropriations subcommittee.