The Hill News

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) met Thursday with Defense Secretary Robert Gates Thursday, he said in a tweet.

"This morning I met w/ Sec. Gates. We had a good conversation about the tanker competition, Afghanistan, DOD spending, & schools on Ft. Riley," Moran tweeted.

Moran, a member of the Senate Tea Party Caucus, recently signed a bipartisan letter asking the Pentagon's inspector general to investigate a “clerical error” in the bidding contest between Boeing and EADS for an Air Force tanker contract. The data mix-up briefly gave the two rivals information about each other’s bids.

Senators including Moran want the Pentagon to investigate the incident to ensure that Boeing’s bid was not harmed by the mistake. An Air Force investigation that included forensic analyses of all discs and computers involved has cleared both companies of wrongdoing.

The Pentagon is just weeks away from picking a winner in the competition for the! $35 billion contract. If selected, Chicago-based Boeing would perform the tanker work at sites in Washington and Kansas.