Mr. President, I rise today to express my support for the fair competition amendment proposed by my colleague from Massachusetts, Senator Kennedy, to H.R. 1585, the Defense Department authorization bill.

This amendment would minimize the harmful effects that the current A -76 process for outsourcing federal functions to private contractors has on Federal workers. It will do this by leveling the playing field between Federal workers and private contractors by removing several unfair advantages that contractors currently have in the process. I want to highlight just two of the important improvements that the amendment would make to the A -76 process.

First, this amendment would take away the competitive advantage that contractors currently have if they deny their employees health and retirement benefits. I have fought to improve and protect federal workers' benefits as the chairman of the Federal Workforce Subcommittee. At a time when more and more Americans have no health insurance, it is simply wrong to give private contractors an advantage in winning work done by DOD employees by denying their workers the health benefits that Congress has guaranteed to Federal employees.

Also, this amendment would give employees the same right to protest unfair contract awards under the A -76 process that private contractors already have. The current situation makes no sense. Private contractors were given the right to protest contracting decisions in the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984, a law that was written for competitions between private contractors. The same protest right was never extended to Federal workers who compete against private contractors under the A -76 process. Basic fairness dictates that if one party can protest the results of a contest, both sides should be able to.

I believe this amendment introduces a more appropriate level of caution into the process for outsourcing Federal jobs. Caution is especially important for jobs related to national defense and security. The recent events involving Blackwater as a contract security provider in Iraq remind us how difficult it can be to hold outside contractors accountable. The Federal Government over time has been a model for fair and equal employment practices, and in turn Federal workers have shown strong loyalty, courage, and dedication to serving their country. When we award jobs that are currently done by Federal workers to private contractors, we limit our ability to demand a high level of accountability and fairness from the private companies that win the contracts, nor can we expect the same level of dedication from their employees.

When used properly on a limited basis, the A -76 process can improve Government efficiency by injecting competition into certain Federal functions that mirror activities performed by the private sector. However, the results of A -76 competitions suggest that there is limited economic value to the process. Federal employees do their jobs more efficiently than private contractors in most cases. Federal employees win 80 percent of the competitions under the A -76 process despite advantages given to private contractors. These positive results do not justify keeping the advantages granted to the private sector. Leveling the playing field will do more than make A -76 competitions objectively fairer. It can undo the harm to Federal employee morale that is caused by forcing them to compete for their jobs within a system that is rigged against them.

At a time when the Federal Government faces tremendous challenges in hiring and retaining talented workers, it is important that we act to address the harmful effects that the current A -76 process has on the Federal workforce. That is what the fair competition amendment would do, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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