Implementing Management For Performance And Related Reforms To Obtain Value In Every Acquisition Act Of 2010
Floor Speech
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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Chairman, my amendment to the IMPROVE Act sets the record straight on the importance of competition in Federal contracting. My amendment simply clarifies that nothing in this bill restricts the current public-private competition requirements that already exist in title 10 of the United States Code.
Competing contracts help the government to be a ``smarter shopper.'' This process simply compares costs and performance currently being used by the Federal Government to alternatives available in the private and nonprofit organizations. Whether the benefits are produced by keeping the work within the agency, or from contracting out, the best deal for the taxpayer and our national defense should win every single time.
The Office of Management and Budget Report on Competitive Sourcing Results for fiscal year 2007 showed that competitions between year 2003 and 2007 have saved the taxpayer $7.2 billion. Expected savings from competition are approximately $1 billion a year. Taxpayers will receive a return of about $30 for every dollar spent on competition. Competition simply gives the taxpayer the opportunity to be a smarter shopper and to get the best products available for the very best price.
I not only encourage my colleagues to support this amendment, but also to adopt competitive sourcing procedures in all of our Federal agencies. What is good for the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense and all across this government is certainly good enough for the Department of Labor and all agencies.
This IMPROVE Act is one step toward combating the waste, fraud and abuse of contracting within the Federal Government. I support this legislation and believe it is not only intended for the right purposes, but will also achieve that. I ask that all of my colleagues support passage of this amendment.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Chairman, I do want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews) not only for his testimony before the Rules Committee yesterday, but also that of Mr. Conaway.
With the intent of their legislation, they are trying to streamline the government, save money, produce a better product, and perhaps more importantly, to make sure that the American people have confidence in the money that they are spending that goes for the intended reasons. For that I not only appreciate you, Mr. Chairman, but also the hard work and the thoughtfulness that the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews) has put into this.
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