Bill Bennett: “I want competition, too. He said he wants fair competition. I want fair competition, too. I remember in his previous…”

“I want competition, too. He said he wants fair competition. I want fair competition, too. I remember in his previous speech he said he was so concerned about fair competition that he would be willing to write the law in such a way as to outline the requirements to make sure there was fair competition and then allow the depots a 10-percent cushion. He said, if they came within 10 percent of the private sector, they would be given the opportunity to hold the work. We believe the language in this bill fulfills the requirement that he laid out on this floor at that time, that it does outline fair competition. He says many people think of depots as an entitlement, and he says, 'I reject that.' I agree with him 100 percent. Depots, or any defense facility, are not an entitlement, whether it is in California or Texas or Utah or Arizona. However, there is the question of the core capability of the Department of Defense in establishments that they have created over time.”