Halliburton, Other Robber Barons Running Scared: Lobbying against Waxman Contracting Reforms

[CorpGovActivist]

"Contracting associations object to new (Waxman) acquisition bill": http://www.fcw.com/article97885-03-09-07-Web

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d&q=waxman+oversight+committee+contracting

The robber barons really don't like the proposed new transparency.

The Accountability in Contracting Act has spawned renewed industry lobbying. See the stories above, and the legislation/committee actions below:

http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1204

http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1202

This sort of comprehensive reform does not take place overnight. This is the harvest of long labor and toil, in obscurity, by Waxman and his staff.

These new lobbying groups warrant special attention, especially when it comes to their campaign contributions: http://www.fec.gov/

FYI...

Best to all,

- Dave

************************************************************************************
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Administration Oversight
Chairman Waxman Introduces the Accountability in Contracting Act

On March 6, 2007, Rep. Henry A. Waxman introduced H.R. 1362, the “Accountability in Contracting Act.” The legislation would change federal acquisition law to require agencies to limit the use of abuse-prone contracts, to increase transparency and accountability in federal contracting, and to protect the integrity of the acquisition workforce.

Limiting the Length of Noncompetitive Contracts
The Administration has justified the award of lucrative no-bid contracts by citing urgent and compelling needs. But these contracts have continued years after the emergency has passed. Section 101 limits the duration of no-bid contracts awarded in emergencies to eight months.

Minimizing No-Bid Contracts
Spending on no-bid contracts has more than doubled under the Bush Administration. Section 102 curbs this abuse by requiring large federal agencies to develop and implement a plan to promote competition and minimize the use of noncompetitive contracts.

Minimizing Cost-Plus Contracts
Cost-plus type contracts leave the taxpayer vulnerable to wasteful spending by providing contractors with little or no incentive to control costs. This type of contract has grown by 75% during the Bush Administration. Section 103 requires large federal agencies to develop and implement a plan to minimize the use of these abuse-prone contracts.

Public Disclosure of Justifications for No-Bid Contracts
When an agency awards a no-bid contract, it must prepare a “justification and approval” document that explains why the agency did not require full and open competition. Section 201 requires agencies to make these “justification and approval” documents public within 14 days.

Disclosing Contractor Overcharges
The Bush Administration has hidden contractor overcharges from Congress, international auditors, and the public, impeding oversight and diminishing accountability. Section 202 promotes transparency in federal contracting by requiring that contract overcharges in excess of $1 million be disclosed to Congress.

Funding Contract Oversight
A large and recurring problem in federal procurement has been an insufficient acquisition workforce to administer and oversee federal contracts. Section 203 mandates that agencies devote at least an additional 1% of their procurement budgets to contract oversight, planning, and administration.

Closing the Revolving Door
Section 301 increases from one to two years the amount of time contracting officials are barred from taking jobs with firms they have supervised as a government employee. It also extends the ban to lobbying and consulting for government contractors, prohibits contracting officials from negotiating employment for their relatives, and establishes a two-year cooling off period before procurement officials can award or oversee contracts involving a former employer.


Documents and Links
Full Text of H.R. 1362
Bill Summary: Accountability in Contracting Act

[robinlynne]

1. Thanks as always Dave!

[CorpGovActivist]

2. You Bet! The Trade Rags...

... like FCW and GCN are often the first to pick up on stuff like this.

http://www.fcw.com/ (Waxman on front page of website right now)

http://www.gcn.com/

http://www.govexec.com/

- Dave