On the recordMay 17, 2012
I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I stand in strong support of this amendment, an amendment that I think speaks to a rationality in our contracting, and especially when we think of what we're talking about here in the defense world. It's one thing to have PLAs that virtually make unfair competition for 86 percent of all of our construction contractors, because 86 percent, nationwide, don't have PLA agreements, they're nonunion, and yet have skilled workers doing the jobs they are expected. For defense contracting to have a mandate that there must be a PLA agreement in place oftentimes will put our defense industry in the position of accepting a product that is more expensive and potentially of a lesser quality in the process. This is not a mandate. This says choice can be made either way. And I think it needs to be made very clear that's all we're saying. It is neutral. It is not, as was described by others, that this would take PLAs out of the mix. I stand in strong support for this, and I ask that this amendment be applied to ultimately make a stronger defense capability for our country.
