George Voinovich: “After I am finished with my presentation. It has been the prerogative of every administration since the 1950s to decide…”

“After I am finished with my presentation. It has been the prerogative of every administration since the 1950s to decide when to conduct public-private competitions and the manner in which these competitions would be conducted. That is the prerogative of the executive administrative branch of Government. Congress, in its oversight role, has the right and responsibility to know what the executive branch is doing. This amendment will require the Bush administration to provide exactly that information. This will create a uniform reporting requirement on competitive sourcing activities at all executive branch agencies of Government across the board--not just Treasury. This affects the entire operation across the board of the Federal Government. That information will guide congressional oversight and allow us to judge if further congressional action is necessary. The amendment also gives appeal rights to a Federal organization when it loses a bid. Currently, when private contractors lose a competition with a Government entity, or another private sector contractor, they have a right to appeal the decision to the General Accounting Office. The Federal organization currently does not have that right. This provision levels the playing field and makes the competition process fair to Federal employees. We put them in the same position as we do the private contractors. We want them to be able to appeal it.”