TSA Procurement Reform Act Of 2007

Floor Speech

TSA PROCUREMENT REFORM ACT OF 2007 -- (Extensions of Remarks - August 02, 2007)

* Mr. CARNEY. Madam Speaker, today I am introducing the ``TSA Procurement Reform Act of 2007.'' This Act will increase contracting transparency at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), open opportunities for small businesses, and eliminate wasteful and duplicative bureaucracy. This Act is necessary because TSA was exempted from the near-universal federal contracting system, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), after the September 11th terrorist attacks.

* It makes no sense that every other organization in the Department of Homeland Security--and the vast majority of the federal government--is governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation, yet TSA plays by its own rules. Even while we are at war, the Department of Defense uses the FAR. This exemption for TSA creates an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, decreases competition, and shuts out small businesses from too many contracting opportunities.

* The legislation will repeal the TSA's exemption from federal contracting laws 180 days after enactment. The legislation is supported by a broad coalition from the oversight and business communities. Citizens Against Government Waste and the Professional Services Council--a trade association representing more than 220 federal contractors--both support the intent of this bill.

* Years of contract mismanagement prove that there is no longer justification for the exemption. Over the last several years, the TSA has awarded contracts filled with wasteful spending, including a contract to Boeing that jumped from $508 million to $1.2 billion and a contract to Pearson Government Solutions that first cost $104 million and skyrocketed to $741 million in less than one year.

* I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the Capitol and both sides of the aisle to ensure that we strengthen our homeland security as much as possible and eliminate the many deficiencies at DHS and throughout the federal government impeding our Nation from being as safe as we would like.

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