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Friday, March 16, 2007
House Overwhelmingly Passes Contracting Reform Act
Yesterday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the "Accountability in Contracting Act" by a vote of 347 - 73. The bill (H.R. 1362) would improve oversight of federal contractors by restricting the use of sole-source, or no-bid, contracts and require large contracting agencies to minimize their use of cost-reimbursement contracts. It would also tighten post-employment restrictions on government procurement officials and permanently extend the acquisition workforce training fund.
Despite unsubstantiated objections by the White House, the House moved quickly this week, marking up the contracting bill in both the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the House Armed Services Committee, and passing the bill on the floor in the span of only nine days.
The bill was the fifth passed by the House during Sunshine Week, all of which would expand and strengthen the transparency and accountability of the federal government. The other bills concerned protecting government whistleblowers, expanding the Freedom of Information Act, restoring the automatic release of presidential records, and requiring disclosure of donors to presidential libraries.
TAKE ACTION: Contact your Senators and Representative today to increase contractor responsibility and oversight!
Posted by Adam Hughes
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