Harry Reid: “I will take a moment to speak in support of the Mikulski-Landrieu outsourcing amendment. This amendment would require…”

“I will take a moment to speak in support of the Mikulski-Landrieu outsourcing amendment. This amendment would require the administration to revise the guidelines for conducting outsourcing studies, which it changed this spring. We have been hearing a lot about competition and I am all for competition. It makes our economy strong. But I have to wonder if competition is good in some cases, why isn't it good for companies like Halliburton, which receive huge contracts without submitting bids? The administration seems to think that competition is good for the little guy, but not for big corporations that have connections to the White House. Competition should be fair. There should be an equal playing field. That means, when we are talking about the jobs of people who have given years of service to a public agency, we have to consider the value of their experience. Experience matters. Experience is valuable. And having experienced workers in critical positions is in the public interest. The administration's changes to the rules for outsourcing studies put workers at a disadvantage, and favor contractors. For example, under the former rules, contractors were required to demonstrate a 10 percent cost savings before they could win a job competition. This ensured that we wouldn't sacrifice experience for a negligible savings. Under the administration's new rules, contractors are not even required to demonstrate a cost savings in order to receive a contract.”