Ayotte's "Never Contracting with the Enemy Act" Included in Final Defense Bill Approved by Congress

Press Release

The final Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was approved by Congress on Friday includes legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) to keep U.S. taxpayer dollars out of enemy hands. Ayotte's "Never Contract with the Enemy Act" will provide all government agencies the authority to more quickly sever ties with contractors who funnel taxpayer dollars to enemies of the United States.

"We should not allow U.S. government contracts in any agency to be used to divert money to those fighting against us, and this measure builds on the success of previous provisions I worked to include in the 2012 and 2014 NDAAs that have been credited with preventing $31 million in taxpayer money from going to enemies of the U.S.," said Ayotte. "This common sense proposal is a significant achievement that will help ensure American tax dollars are not being used in the fight against us."

Since arriving in the Senate in 2011, Ayotte has focused on ensuring that the Department of Defense has the authority it needs to quickly terminate contracts when we discover that they are being used to funnel tax dollars to enemies of the U.S., such as the Taliban. She worked to successfully enact legislation in the 2012 NDAA that gave Pentagon contracting officials in the Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility the ability to more quickly terminate such contracts.

In the FY 2014 NDAA, Senator Ayotte successfully advocated for those authorities to be expanded beyond CENTCOM to other geographic combatant commands. As of May 2014, DoD reported that the authorities Ayotte worked to include in the NDAA have been credited with helping prevent $31 million in U.S. taxpayer money from going to enemies of the United States.

Based on the belief that we should not allow U.S. government contracts in any agency to be used to divert money to those fighting against us, Ayotte has made it a top priority to expand such authority to all federal government agencies.

Prior to its inclusion in this year's NDAA, a version of the "Never Contract with the Enemy Act," which Ayotte first introduced with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) in April 2013, was passed by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in a strong, bipartisan voice vote in May 2014.

The Never Contract with the Enemy Act has been endorsed by several current and former officials, including General Joseph Dunford, then-Commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, who testified last year that Ayotte's legislation would "be critical [to] not only DoD...but the State Department, and specifically U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which has a significant role in contracting Afghanistan. They would have the same authorities that we do. That is, don't contract with the enemy."

Last year during a forum with Senator Ayotte at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, the then-Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), Stuart Bowen, Jr., praised Ayotte's legislation as "common sense" and said it "plugs the holes" that exist in current law to help stop the flow of funds to bad actors.

Also, in May 2013, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko wrote to Senator Ayotte saying, "If passed, your bill will strengthen existing law to ensure that U.S. contracting dollars do not go to individuals and groups opposing U.S. and Coalition forces."

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