John Sarbanes: “The Senator from Wyoming spoke as though the amendment is going to repeal public-private competition sourcing. My…”

“The Senator from Wyoming spoke as though the amendment is going to repeal public-private competition sourcing. My colleague talked about what was done in 2001 and the competitions that have taken place since that date. So, as one listened to him, one was thinking: Well, is this whole competitive arrangement going to be stopped in its tracks? Nothing could be further from the truth. What this amendment seeks to do is to stop an OMB revision, of last May 29, with respect to the terms on which these competitions are going to take place. That is all it does. When I was first listening to the Senator from Wyoming, I thought to myself: Well, surely we would meet what seems to be his concern if we just went back to the system that prevailed before the OMB revision. But then, at the end, he became clear and said, no, he wants those revisions as well. That is what I am very much opposed to. This amendment seeks to ensure the Government work is allocated in a fair and equitable manner. I believe it would provide the American taxpayers with the best value for Government services and for their tax dollars. Often--in fact, federal employees win most of these competitions. There seems to be a premise on the part of the Senator from Wyoming that savings is most often achieved when work goes to the private sector. That is not the case. What has happened is the OMB is driving an ideological agenda.”