[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 106 (Friday, July 31, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9615-S9616]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            FEDERAL ACTIVITIES INVENTORY REFORM ACT OF 1998

 Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I would like to add a few remarks 
concerning S. 314, the Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act 
of 1998. I understand that under this measure, each federal government 
agency will be required to annually publish an inventory of 
governmental activities that are not inherently governmental in nature.
  Under S. 314, agencies will retain discretion to determine whether an 
activity is inherently governmental or commercial, and private industry 
will be given the option to challenge that decision. An agency may also 
decide that an activity is inherently governmental, but nonetheless 
pursue outsourcing. This latter practice can be continued and is 
encouraged by S. 314. For example, I would point my colleagues to the 
practices of the General Services Administration (GSA), the agency 
charged with managing all federal personal and real property--including 
the disposal of property no longer needed by the government, but 
desired by private consumers.
  Three years ago, an Arthur Anderson study concluded that the 
auctioning function is inherently governmental to GSA's mission. 
Nevertheless, GSA has increasingly outsourced this function to the 
private sector.
  Today's legislation in no way discourages the federal government's 
reliance on private industry--particularly, where, as in the case of 
GSA, a reputable commercial property disposal industry is established 
and no federal jobs or careers are displaced or otherwise placed at 
risk. Moreover, auctioning by commercial companies will yield a greater 
return on the government's investment due to the utilization of 
commercial incentives and practices. Under Office of Management and 
Budget Circular Number A-76,

[[Page S9616]]

agencies are already required to maintain and update a baseline 
inventory of activities that could be performed by the private sector. 
S. 314 would largely codify current administrative policy.

                          ____________________