David Thomas: “this second-degree amendment on which we will be voting, the reporting requirement, addresses a number of concerns…”

“this second-degree amendment on which we will be voting, the reporting requirement, addresses a number of concerns various Senators have had with competitive sourcing. The second-degree amendment does the following: It requires the Secretary of the Interior to annually report on its competitive sourcing efforts--including a list of the total number of competitions completed, a list of the total number of competitions announced and the activities covered, and a list of the total number of full-time equivalent Federal employees studied under completed competitions. The second-degree amendment is a responsible measure that will bring additional accountability and transparency to public-private competitions. Two weeks ago, the House overwhelmingly adopted a similar reporting requirement during consideration of the Treasury/Transportation appropriations bill. The Thomas-Voinovich amendment will give Congress additional oversight of competitive sourcing, unlike the Reid amendment that stops it altogether. Competitive sourcing allows tax dollars to be used more efficiently, more effectively. It will improve agency efficiency. I urge my colleagues to support the second-degree amendment.”