FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 15, 2004

CONTACT: Stacey Farnen 202-225-3130

HOYER A-76 CONTRACTING OUT AMENDMENT ADOPTED BY TRANSPORTATION – TREASURY SUBCOMMITTEE

Amendment Would Guarantee a Level Playing Field for Federal Employees

WASHINGTON, DC – The House Transportation, Treasury Subcommittee accepted an amendment by House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) today in subcommittee markup of the Fiscal Year 2005 Transportation, Treasury Appropriations Bill that will correct two serious deficiencies in the most recent A-76 revisions.  Those revisions, which were adopted on May 29, 2003, put federal employees at a competitive disadvantage and did not guarantee that taxpayer money will be economically spent:
  
 “I am very pleased that the Transportation, Treasury subcommittee adopted my amendment in today’s markup.  I will fight to ensure it is included in the Fiscal Year 2005 Transportation, Treasury conference report or an omnibus. 
 
 “This amendment will guarantee a level playing field for hard-working federal workers by correcting two serious deficiencies in the most recent A-76 revisions, which were adopted on May 29, 2003.  These revisions put federal employees at a competitive disadvantage and did not guarantee that taxpayer money would be economically spent. 
 
 “The inclusion of my amendment will ensure that when public-private competition occurs, the process will be fair, maximize the interests of taxpayers, and ensure that federal employees work in an environment that allows them to fairly compete with contractors for their jobs.  And it will go a long way toward improving a competition process that is currently tilted in favor of private contractors.  Federal employees deserve a fair chance to compete for their own jobs and the taxpayers deserve the best deal for their money.”
 
The Hoyer amendment would ensure first, that federal employees in functions involving more than 10 employees have opportunities to submit their best bids (Most Efficient Organization, MEO, plans) and second, contractors would have to at least promise to be marginally more efficient (a Minimum Cost Differential, MCD, of at least 10% of in-house personnel costs or $10 million, whichever is less) in order to offset the often considerable costs of conducting competitions and transitioning work.

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