Dianne Feinstein: “I rise to oppose the Defense authorization conference report. I oppose this conference report because it contains…”

“I rise to oppose the Defense authorization conference report. I oppose this conference report because it contains language that will effectively ban any further public-private competition of depot workload at McClellan and Kelly Air Logistics Centers. If this restrictive depot language remains in the bill, the President has said he will veto the bill. A letter is already in the Record, signed by Office of Management and Budget Director Franklin Raines, to that effect. I will read the letter in part: The bill includes provisions whose intent is to protect public depots by limiting private industry's ability to compete for the depot-level maintenance of military systems and components. If enacted, these provisions, which run counter to the ongoing efforts by Congress and the Administration to use competition to improve DOD's business practices, would severely limit the Department's flexibility to increase efficiency and save taxpayer dollars. Both the Quadrennial Defense Review and the National Defense Panel recommended repeal of current laws constrain DOD's efforts to competitively outsource depot maintenance workload. Rather than facilitating DOD's use of competitive outsourcing, the bill attempts to further restrict it.”