Ernest Istook: “Mr. Chairman, I believe this is an amendment that is a wolf in sheep's clothing. We heard from its sponsor that this is…”

“Mr. Chairman, I believe this is an amendment that is a wolf in sheep's clothing. We heard from its sponsor that this is supposedly to stop people from being arbitrary; to stop people from setting some arbitrary quota, as they call it. The amendment has nothing to do with whether things are being done in an arbitrary fashion. The amendment has as its goal stopping the Federal Government from privatizing or outsourcing, or even trying to, anything that involves work that is currently being done by Federal workers. It has as its goal stopping the Bush administration's management initiative that is trying to save taxpayers significant dollars. Indeed, they project that typically, when it is proper to do so, outsourcing work can save the taxpayers 30 to 50 percent of normal cost for doing certain functions. There is a process that is established by prior legislation of this Congress, what is called the FAIR Act, what is known as the A76 process, and through this there has already been underway for months an effort to identify work that is done by Federal workers that is considered competitive in nature, where it is competing with the private sector. It may involve data processing, it may involve food services. The Marine Corps, for example, Mr. Chairman, has just contracted out hiring people to feed our Marines.”