[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9265]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            COMPETITION AMONG GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS IS KEY

  (Mr. DRIEHAUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DRIEHAUS. Mr. Speaker, if we're serious about reducing spending, 
we should be promoting competition among government contractors, not 
stifling it. We know from experience that a competitive engine program 
for our military aircraft drives down long-term costs and leads to a 
more reliable product for our Armed Forces. That's why competitive 
procurement has long been the policy of the Federal Government, and 
that's why we need a competitive engine program for the Joint Strike 
Fighter.
  But the primary contractor responsible for the upcoming F-35 Joint 
Strike Fighter engine doesn't want to play by the rules. They want to 
be declared the winner of the race while all of the contestants are 
still at the starting line. The development of a competitive engine is 
75 percent complete and is expected to be available to the military 5 
years ahead of initial projections. The competitive contractor has 
twice offered a fixed price to complete this project, ensuring 
production won't be burdened with cost overruns.
  I urge all of my colleagues to do what's responsible to taxpayers and 
responsible to our men and women in uniform: Support the Joint Strike 
Fighter Competitive Engine Program.

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