Political Quotes

“Over the past few years, the prevailing trend within the Department of Defense has been an overreliance on Federal employees to perform commercial services. Given our Nation's need for fiscal austerity, a problem made more acute by mandated sequester cuts, it is important that Congress provide the Pentagon with the necessary tools to drive efficiencies and cost savings. Public- private competitions are one such tool. Public-private competitions are an effective way of injecting performance and accountability into government operations. The private sector constantly competes for new business opportunities. When the Federal Government performs commercial functions, they, too, should be required to compete. Unfortunately, Congress has placed a moratorium on public-private cost competitions, effectively granting monopoly power to the Federal Government when it comes to providing commercially available goods and services. We all know that without competition, both innovation and quality suffer. The amendment does not mandate the use of public-private competitions. It simply unlocks an essential tool that the Defense Department can use to drive cost effectiveness and efficiencies, and save valuable taxpayer dollars.”