Providing for Consideration of HR 1362, Accountability in Contracting Act

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1362, ACCOUNTABILITY IN CONTRACTING ACT

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Ms. CASTOR. Madam Speaker, House Resolution 242 provides for consideration of H.R. 1362, the Accountability in Contracting Act, under a structured rule. The rule provides 80 minutes of general debate, with 60 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Armed Services.

The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill, except clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI.

The rule provides that in lieu of the substitutes recommended by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Armed Services, the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in part A of the Rules Committee report shall be considered as an original bill for the purpose of amendment. All points of order except clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI are waived against the substitute, and the substitute shall be considered as read.

The rule makes in order the two amendments printed in part B of the Rules Committee report. Each amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report and by the Member designated in the report. The amendments are considered as read, are debatable for 10 minutes each, are not subject to amendment and are not divisible. All points of order against the amendments except for clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI are waived.

Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit, with or without instructions.

Madam Speaker, this rule and the legislation before us today is the Accountability in Contracting Act. This new act will restore accountability in Federal contracting. It targets conflicts of interest that have become too prevalent over past years.

During the first 100 hours of this new Congress, we charted a new direction in response to the American people's call for change and reform. We passed pay-as-you-go budgeting to require greater fiscal responsibility, we passed Medicare part D reform to require the executive branch to negotiate lower drug prices for our seniors and help the Federal bottom line, and we eliminated unnecessary tax subsidies for big oil companies that were making record profits while we paid record prices at the pump.

But if you recall, Madam Speaker, the first item of business during the first 100 hours of this new Congress was ethics reform. After the scandals of the past years, our commitment to the American people is to fight for higher ethical standards in the United States Congress and for all of the Federal Government by severing the connection between lobbyists and legislation, by banning gifts and travel from lobbyists, and ending the abuses of privately funded travel.

Today, the new Democratic Congress will continue our fight for ethics reform while we are still in the first 100 days through this rule and the Accountability in Contracting Act. This bill targets waste in Federal contracting, limits the use of no-bid contracts, minimizes sole-source contracts, and closes the revolving door between purchasing officers and private contractors. This bill addresses the past problems with wasteful and fraudulent contracts in Iraq, the Defense Department and in relation to Hurricane Katrina.

Congressional hearings have already shown that an estimated $10 billion in Iraq reconstruction funds was wasted as a result of overcharging, poor tracking and mismanagement by U.S. contractors, three times more than was estimated just last fall. Unfortunately, these accounts have abounded under the Bush administration. Defense auditors estimate that at least one out of six dollars spent in Iraq is suspect, including $2.7 billion in Halliburton contracts.

Almost 19 post-Hurricane Katrina contracts worth a total of $8.75 billion have been plagued by waste, fraud and mismanagement; and only 30 percent of the more than $10 billion in Katrina contracts were awarded with full and open competition. And when it comes down to the small contractors who are actually hauling away the rubble and debris, they were not getting paid properly. This bill will help stop these kinds of wasteful contracts that keep the real work from getting done, that keep our neighbors from recovering from a natural disaster, and that keep the real workers from getting paid.

In my Tampa Bay area district, the Federal defense procurement revolving door has been the subject of Federal investigations in Federal district court proceedings in Tampa over the past several years. So it is vital we stand up for the folks we represent and demand their Federal tax dollars are spent correctly, especially when it comes to national security. That means having tough and fair oversight and a transparent system so there are no conflicts of interest.

So I commend the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Chair, Mr. Waxman, for his diligent efforts. I also commend the House Armed Services Chair, Ike Skelton, and my fellow members of the Armed Services Committee for their work on this legislation. When we marked this bill up in the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, this effort won bipartisan and unanimous support. It deserves no less by the full House today.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. CASTOR. Madam Speaker, to correct the record, the cost that the gentleman from Texas referred to was in section 203 of the bill. That section was deleted in the Armed Services Committee markup and is not in the base text.

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Ms. CASTOR. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

From day one, this new Congress has been working to restore accountability in Washington, including adopting fiscally responsible pay-as-you-go budgeting and fighting for higher ethical standards in government.

It is heartening to the American people, I know, that much of this has been done in a bipartisan way. And indeed, on this bill this morning, I anticipate that the House will follow the unanimous and bipartisan votes of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Armed Services Committee.

As part of our ongoing effort to fight for fiscally responsible budgeting and higher ethical standards, this week I know, today, we will pass this legislation and this rule that changes the way that Congress and the Federal Government does business. It shines a bright light on how government operates. We will continue to answer the call of the American people for change and reform.

I urge a ``yes' vote on the rule and on the previous question.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

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