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WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate Commerce Committee adopted an amendment offered by Senator John Kerry (D - Mass.) that will increase transparency and accountability at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) -- working to put an end to excess profits from no-bid contracts.
TSA is the largest contractor within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and has a record of mismanagement and lack of transparency in its acquisitions.TSA issued a “cost-plus-a-percentage” contract to Boeing that resulted in Boeing being paid $49 million in excess profit. TSA has also been unable to provide paperwork that would explain a $600 million increase over 9 months paid to Pearson Government Solutions.
Kerry's amendment will repeal TSA’s exemption from the federal procurement laws that nearly every other agency, including the Department of Defense, must abide by. The DHS Inspector General and GAO have investigated several TSA-issued contracts that were mismanaged and lacked transparency. In May 2004 the GAO conducted an investigation into TSA’s acquisition office which was so disorganized staff had to rummage through boxes of files to piece together the details of 21 contracts it was reviewing.
Kerry said, “At a time when homeland security should be our utmost priority, TSA has the important job of monitoring the safety and security of our ports, airports, highways and bridges. It’s essential that we hold TSA to higher standards. Americans' hard-earned tax dollars - and more importantly, our safety and security - are in TSA’s hands.”
Kerry added, “As the Ranking Member of the Small Business Committee, I have been particularly concerned that TSA has been exempt from requirements that they work with small businesses. My amendment will open doors for small businesses to compete for TSA contracts from which they have been excluded in the past.”
Under Kerry’s amendment, TSA would be subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), just like every other federal agency:
• FAR covers every major procurement law, including the Competition in Contracting Act and the Small Business Act, and requires every agency and its contractors to submit contract information to the federal government, to provide open competition in contracting, and to provide opportunities for small businesses to compete for contracts. • Since 9/11, the TSA has been exempt from every major procurement law. TSA had broad authority to sidestep normal competitive bidding practices and use a “single source” if it decides that there is a rational basis for doing so.
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