Karen Bass: “I rise in support of H.R. 1670. Before my colleagues vote to considerably weaken this bill, I would ask them to consider…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 1670. Before my colleagues vote to considerably weaken this bill, I would ask them to consider the reforms being offered here today by the chairmen, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Clinger] and the gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Spence]. H.R. 1670 would enable businesses to compete effectively in both commercial and Government markets, and would eliminate many of the contracting requirements unique to the Government that increase the cost of doing business with it. We have heard this from prior speakers. The simplification of unwieldy requirements and procedures will also encourage more businesses to enter the Federal marketplace which may have been intimidated by the current system. These businesses just simply cannot deal with the system as it is today. These changes will enable the Government to take advantage of leading technology firms, the technology being supplied by these firms important to the Government. I strongly urge my colleagues to support the Federal Acquisition Reform Act in the interests of efficiency, a strengthened supplier base, increased competition, and reduced procurement costs. I urge my colleagues to vote against any amendments that are offered that will weaken this bill and make the system work more slowly and more bureaucratically.”