Collins-Wyden Contracting Proposal Included
In Iraq Spending Bill
Bipartisan proposal blocks no-bid contracts without public disclosure

November 3, 2003

WASHINGTON, DC —The Senate today approved language mirroring Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Ron Wyden’s (D-Ore.) proposal to require new Iraqi construction contracts to be awarded through full and open competition, unless the Coalition Provisional Authority or federal contracting agent publicly justifies any sole source or limited-bid contracts. The language was included in the Iraq/Afghanistan Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill (H.R. 3289).

The Supplemental includes language that Collins and Wyden authored to require disclosure that would enable Congress to conduct rigorous oversight of the contracting process and to ensure that contracts are awarded to the most qualified companies at the best cost to taxpayers.

“This is about ensuring openness and fairness when contracts are entered into to build the infrastructure of a country that cannot provide its citizens basic, essential services,” said Senator Collins. “Americans deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent in Iraq. Under this legislation, taxpayers will know.”

“Requiring Federal agencies to justify their spending decisions in Iraq will hopefully call a halt to the most egregious cases of waste of tax dollars, and will also give more American businesses the chance to compete for contracts,” said Wyden.

Like the Collins-Wyden proposal, language in the supplemental requires justifying documents for any non-competitive bidding process to be published in the Federal Register and FedBizOpps, which is the electronic version of Commerce Business Daily. Also, like the Collins-Wyden proposal, the published information would include the amount of the contract, a description of the contract’s scope, a list of companies selected for the closed bidding process, and explanations of how and why the agency chose those contractors. Different procedures would apply to contract documents that, if disclosed, could compromise national security.

In addition, the Supplemental includes provisions that would require reports to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and its House counterpart on how the funds are being spent and to explain contracts and interagency transfers. This is similar to the Collins-Wyden proposal.

The requirement would affect both new contracts and existing contracts that are extended with funds from the supplemental. The Supplemental language does not apply to funds for military operations.

 

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