Senate competitive-sourcing bill strikes a nerve
By
Nick Wakeman
Readers react strongly to proposal to curtail outsourcing and bring more work in-house. Join the debate.
When Sen. Barbara Milkuski (D-Md.) introduced the Clean-Up Act, reader reaction was swift.
“One small step for the union man. One giant leap backward for a capitalist society,” commented a reader who identified him- or herself only as M.
The bill, which also goes by the tongue-twisting name of the Correction of Longstanding Errors in Agencies Unsustainable Procurements Act, or S. 924, would suspend indefinitely the Bush administrations A-76 process, which was put on a temporary hold by the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act.
One reader predicted that the bill, if passed, would help lead to the end of the Democratic majority in 2010. “Great, let’s socialize everything,” wrote Chuck from Florida.
Others were more introspective – Jaime Gracia of Washington D.C. talked about the need for fairness for contractors and government workers.
An anonymous poster wonder if there is more to the bill: “Federal workers have been winning over 80 percent of all competitions. The playing field seems to have already been tilted in their favor. What it the real agenda?”
Read the story and add your comments.