Political Quotes

“first, I would like to state my strong support for H.R. 1670, the Federal Acquisition Reform Act of 1995. I would also like to commend Chairman Clinger for his leadership on this bill. As a member of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee, I can say with confidence that we have an excellent bipartisan bill before us today. Throughout the debate, I have heard numerous Members claim that the bill is not small business friendly. I believe Chairman Clinger has taken into consideration the interests of our Nation's small businesses and worked hard to create a reformed procurement system designed to assist all businesses. With that said, I rise today, Mr. Chairman, to offer an amendment which seeks to address small business concerns set forth in FASA, the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994. With my amendment, I intend to address a rule currently being promulgated by the General Services Administration [GSA] which would implement section 1555. Section 1555 allows State and local governments to obtain procurement items directly from the GSA's Federal supply schedule [FSS]. Section 1555, if implemented, would prove disastrous for our small and local businesses. Currently, State and local governments obtain their items through their own procurement processes. This is almost always through local and small businesses. It is those businesses that will suffer if suddenly their State and local governments do not purchase from them anymore.”