Barbara Boxer: “the spirit of my amendment is very clear. I am very resolute about it. I appreciate the fact we are going to have a vote…”

“the spirit of my amendment is very clear. I am very resolute about it. I appreciate the fact we are going to have a vote on the Warner first-degree amendment and the Boxer amendment. All the years I was in the House of Representatives, part of the time I served on the Armed Services Committee. I am pleased to see my friend from Illinois here because together during the years I served on the Armed Services Committee, we took on the issue of procurement reform. I am very pleased to say that as a result of the work that many of us did, we were able to--and it was Berkley Bedell, if my colleague remembers; there were a number of us--we were able to make sure there was competition at the Pentagon. Competition is the name of the game. It is supposed to be the name of the game in America. When I see any agency turning away from competitive bidding, unless there is a good reason to do so--and I might say, if it is an emergency, this is a good reason, but beyond that, there is no reason to award a contract without going to bid, without considering competitive bids. What happens--and I feel really deeply about this--when the taxpayers of this country and the businesses of this country that are playing by the rules see such a contract given to one special company, it is very bad, in my opinion, for our country. It is very bad for our fighting men and women who risk their life and limb. Let me tell you what I mean.…”