Political Quotes

“I rise to offer myself a simple but much needed amendment to the legislation before us. According to a 2006 report by the Office of Government Ethics, many Federal agencies have become increasingly reliant on non government employees to work closely with government personnel and provide advice on important procurement and spending issues. For example, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, or FFRDCs, as they are commonly known, are in most cases financed exclusively by the agency of the Federal Government and provides services similar to the duties of the Government Accountability Office. There are currently 36 of these centers, which are normally affiliated with an industrial firm, a university or a nonprofit institution that contracts with the Pentagon, Homeland Security, Department of Energy and other Federal agencies to provide decisionmakers with recommendations on procurement policy and important issues that steer billions in taxpayer dollars. In fiscal year 2000, FFRDCs received over $6 billion in Federal funding for their services, yet they are not considered to be Federal employees.”