WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives today appointed Congressman Adam H. Putnam (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census, as a conferee on the FY04 Department of Defense Authorization bill.

“In order to ensure our nation is secure from the threat of terrorism, our military personnel must be equipped with the necessary tools,” said Putnam. “I am excited about this opportunity to work as a conferee to ensure that our military can meet future security threats through modernization of our armed forces and supporting our personnel to guarantee they are the best trained, best equipped, most highly skilled in the world.”

H.R.1588, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2004, includes the National Security Personnel System (NSPS), which would improve the ability of the Department of Defense (DoD) to attract, hire and retain good people into their work force and serve those employees better. The bill would also create a Human Capital Performance Fund for federal employees and includes the vast majority of H.R. 1837, the Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA), which builds on the critical procurement reform initiatives of the 1990s by recognizing that the economy and the needs of our government have become increasingly service and technology oriented.

“As Chairman of the Subcommittee overseeing technology and intergovernmental relations issues, I am committed to bringing important and long overdue reforms to the Pentagon bureaucracy,” Putnam stated. “Our investment should be in more tooth and less tail. We can bring great efficiencies to the DoD.”

“Mr. Putnam is a rising star and an outstanding subcommittee Chairman working on critical technology and national security issues,” Chairman Tom Davis said. “I am glad he has accepted the opportunity to work on this important legislation as it nears the finish line, so he can help safeguard the provisions on civil service and procurement that the Government Reform Committee authored.”

“I’m honored and grateful that Chairman Davis and the House have given me the opportunity to serve as a conferee,” said Putnam. “I will work to ensure that these important personnel and procurement reforms that we have worked so hard on become law."