On the recordMay 25, 2011
I thank the chairman. Mr. Chairman, last month a draft Executive order was circulated that would require companies to disclose all Federal campaign contributions as a condition for submitting a bid on a Federal contract. If implemented, this Executive order would effectively politicize the Federal procurement process. Companies and their bids would run the risk of being judged on the basis of politics as opposed to their professional capabilities. The danger of that is obvious. It's never a good idea to mix politics and contracting. My amendment would prevent the President from implementing his proposed disclosure requirements. And it's worth noting for the record, Congress actually considered something similar in the 111th Congress, the so-called DISCLOSE Act, and chose not to pass that particular legislation. This is, in effect, a backdoor effort to implement something that Congress has previously decided not to legislate on. It's worth also noting that all current Federal campaign requirements and disclosure requirements would remain effective. There is nothing in this amendment that affects current law. However, we do prevent the administration from taking that extra step and chilling the First Amendment rights of companies and corporate executives. With that, Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
