Tom Harkin: “all I can say is: Remember the $600 toilet seat and the $500 hammers that had taxpayers up in arms during the…”

“all I can say is: Remember the $600 toilet seat and the $500 hammers that had taxpayers up in arms during the mid-1980's. Today's subsidized mergers are going to make them look like bargains. That is not my quote. That is a quote of Lawrence Korb, President Reagan's Under Secretary of Defense. In 1993, DOD changed its policy to allow payments to defense contractors for the costs of mergers and acquisitions. The GAO and inspector general have both recently issued reports that seriously question DOD's purported savings. This amendment simply puts a 1-year hold on merger costs while the GAO, the IG, and OMB put together a mechanism to make sure that future payments actually result in savings. It does not affect Government assistance to laid-off workers. It does not prohibit payment of any merger costs which DOD is contractually obligated to pay in the fiscal year 1997.”