National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

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Mr. SHUSTER. I appreciate the gentlelady from Texas offering this amendment, and I want to restate what it attempts to do.

It will prohibit outsourcing of DOD functions until the Secretary of Defense conducts an outreach program to benefit women- and minority-owned small businesses. Well, in fact, it is a duplication of what is already in the law. It duplicates section 891 of the fiscal year 2011 National Defense Authorization Act which requires the establishment of an outreach program to firms near DOD installations. This act simply delays allowing for outsourcing to come back in and be part of the benefits that it provides to this Nation, reducing cost, streamlining the process.

So again, this is already in law. As I said, this is nothing more than a delay tactic to stop outsourcing. We need to use outsourcing where it makes sense, to utilize the benefits of reducing cost, which has the potential to help our small businesses, which I think we all support. Whether they are women-owned or minority-owned businesses, small businesses are important, and I think outsourcing does that.

In fact, in my district, Letterkenny Army Depot has public-private partnerships today through outsourcing with small businesses and large alike. The Heritage Foundation did a study commending what is going on at Letterkenny Army Depot utilizing DOD civilians as well as the private sector, coming together where it makes sense, where we can have a tremendously positive impact on the work that goes there. So there is a model out there, and outsourcing is important.

Again, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment because again, it already is established in last year's defense authorization bill exactly what the gentlelady from Texas wants to be established.

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