US, Senate, Outsourcing, Legislation
US Senate passes spending bill that discourages outsourcing
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Submitted by Sens. Kit Bond, R-Mo., and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., a measure in the Transportation Spending Bill requires a public-private competition before any work performed by 10 or more government employees can be awarded to a private company. It also requires contractor bids to be lower by either 10 percent of personnel-related costs or $10 million - whichever is lower.
Bob Cohen, a spokesman for the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), said the rule reverses the momentum for converting the federal procurement process into a business-like operation.
And according to ITAA President Harris N. Miller, "This provision is just one more brick in the wall between the concept of government efficiency and Americans' taxpayer dollars. It undermines the President's Management Agenda and makes it more difficult for the government to obtain the best services for tax payers' dollars."
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But lawmakers who feel the guidelines favor contractors over federal employees drafted the provision to discourage agencies from outsourcing unless the savings are demonstrably significant.
Senators backing the measure say that agencies too often contract out federal jobs without continuously monitoring whether savings result.
"Civilian federal employees are making remarkable contributions to our country," said Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.) "We should not be privatizing government work without giving federal employees a fair chance to defend their jobs, nor should we show a preference to contract employees over our dedicated public workforce."
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