Gotta side with McCain on this one. The American designed and built rocket boosters are going to die in their cradles if they can’t compete on even ground for government contracts. These systems are much more innovative and inexpensive.
The bloated and bureaucratic ULA (United Launch Alliance - a monopoly consortium of good-ole-boy defense contractors) wants to keep the monopoly going.
Short term, RD-180. . .long term, we need our own rocket engine that is fully developed and reliable. That takes time, a long vision.