As we reported [0] yesterday, Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, Jon Soltz, Co-Founder and Chair of VoteVets.org and two Whistleblowers, Jeff Kenner and Tamra Elshaug, who worked for Sioux Manufacturing, held a tele-conference to discuss the need for a congressional investigation into a $74 million Department of Defense contract awarded to a North Dakota manufacturing company, Sioux Manufacturing Company, which has been outfitting our nation's troops with substandard Kevlar helmets.

Last night, the Associated Press [1] reported that North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan joined our call for an investigation.  He, however, wants the Pentagon to investigate.   We think Congress needs to step in:

Senator Byron Dorgan [2] is calling for a Pentagon investigation into Kevlar safety and allegations against the Sioux Manufacturing company, which makes the protective cloth.

Sioux Manufacturing is owned by the Spirit Lake [3] tribe. The company last year agreed to pay nearly 2 million dollars to settle a lawsuit in which it was accused of failing to follow specifications in making Kevlar cloth material.

The company denies wrongdoing, saying the employees were disgruntled and that it settled the lawsuit to avoid a costly legal battle.

Dorgan says the Pentagon will need to know of the allegations are accurate. He says if they're not, it raises questions about how and why the issue was raised.