Contracting-Out Language also at Issue

Several of the pending leftover appropriations bills contain restrictions on the government’s contracting out program that have been the source of a running battle between the Bush administration and Congress—even under Republican control—for years. For example, the Transportation-Treasury bill contains a provision effectively undoing several major changes that the White House made in 2003 to OMB Circular A-76. Those provisions require that the in-house side’s bid be based on a “most efficient organization” and that functions employing 10 or more federal workers can be contracted out only if the contractor can show a saving of at least 10 percent or $10 million. Those restrictions already are in the law for DoD—which does most of the contracting out studies—but must be renewed for other agencies. In addition, other spending bills restrict the contracting out of certain categories of jobs at various agencies, including Agriculture Department activities relating to rural development or farm loan programs, Interior Department wildlife management positions and Army Corps of Engineers lock and dam operations. It’s currently unclear what would happen to those initiatives should Congress not take up the appropriations bills.