Congress Clamps a Lid on Outsourcing of Government Work
Source: Stephen Barr, Washington Post, Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Congress, in an effort to protect federal jobs, has placed restrictions on the Bush administration's program that uses cost-comparison studies to determine whether "commercial" activities performed by the government should be turned over to contractors. One of the more significant curbs was contained in the fiscal 2006 spending bill for the departments of Transportation, Treasury and Housing and Urban Development. The provision applies across the government -- except for the Defense Department and the Transportation Security Administration's airport screener operation -- and became law Nov. 30. The fiscal 2006 defense spending bill, approved by the House yesterday and sent to the Senate, would place a similar limit on the Defense Department's conversion of federal jobs to contractor jobs.