Defense Authorization act passes

President Bush has signed into law the fiscal 2009 National Defense Authorization Act.

The bill (S. 3001) mandates changes to contracting regulations, including more competition for task and delivery orders. It also limits to one year the length of certain noncompetitive contracts, such as those awarded for urgent and compelling circumstances.

"This law will strengthen competition in federal contracting, help rebuild the government's long-neglected acquisition workforce, and increase accountability and transparency to protect taxpayer dollars," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who introduced many of the contracting reforms in a separate bill that was included in the authorization bill.

The House and Senate passed the legislation in September.

Matthew Weigelt writes for Federal Computer Week, an 1105 Government Information Group publication.