[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 2, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S12419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, from day one, the Bush administration 
has pursued an aggressive agenda of privatizing essential Government 
services, even when there has existed overwhelming evidence that doing 
so would waste money, impair accountability, harm citizens who rely on 
those services, or jeopardize our Nation's safety and security. The 
Kennedy-McCaskill amendment on civilian contracting will slow this 
agenda and bring some much needed common sense to the administration's 
campaign to outsource essential functions to the private sector.
  Among other reforms, the amendment will nullify an edict imposed from 
outside the Department of Defense that the agency contract out a 
certain number of jobs regardless of the merits; give Federal employees 
the same rights to challenge a contracting decision that are now 
enjoyed by private contractors; and eliminate a wasteful rule that 
civilian jobs automatically be recompeted at the end of each 
performance period. I am a strong supporter of the Kennedy-McCaskill 
amendment, which will serve as an important check on the 
administration's privatization agenda.

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