Anti-outsourcing bill stalled, but not dead

Time is running out on a bill that would would require federal agencies to use cost-benefit analyses to justify current outside contracts-but backers say they will pursue equivalent legislation during the next Congress.

The Truthfulness, Responsibility, and Accountability in Contracting (TRAC) Act would also require that in-house government workers be considered for jobs before those duties are outsourced.

The legislation receives strong backing from federal employee unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), who argue that government employees should be able to compete for jobs rather than having senior officials assume that private-sector contractors always provide superior service for less money.

The bills are vigorously opposed by associations that represent private contractors.

"It sounds like a fiscally responsible way to eliminate contractor abuses, but it is actually an attempt to reduce the amount of contracting that goes on in government, which in our opinion would literally freeze many government services-and possibly even shut down the government-by making it difficult, if not impossible, for federal managers to choose to contract out," said Jack Kalavritinos, the director of government affairs for the American Consulting Engineers Council.

In March, Rep. Albert Wynn, D-Md., introduced the House version of the legislation, H.R. 3766. To date, the bill has garnered just short of 200 co-sponsors. In July, Sen. Chuck Robb, D-Va., introduced a Senate counterpart, S. 2841. Robb's version has chalked up 16 co-sponsors.

With working days in the current Congress dwindling and no hearings on the bill yet held or scheduled, backers have decided to look ahead to next year.

"We will be back, and we will be much more aggressive next year," said John Threlkeld, an AFGE lobbyist. "We had assumed that the majority was going to be honorable and at least give us a hearing, but we were mistaken, and will proceed accordingly next time."

Threlkeld said that AFGE will continue to cooperate with other unions that support the legislation, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the American Federation of Teachers, the Communications Workers of America, the Federal Managers' Association, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the National Treasury Employees Union.

"Our grassroots had only been hitting on a couple cylinders," Threlkeld said. "We will retool and become more aggressive."

But an ad-hoc coalition of contractor groups-including the Professional Services Council and the American Consulting Engineers Council-is working hard to block the legislation.

The ACEC-which represents almost 6,000 engineering firms-has been actively boosting its profile in Washington, with TRAC its number-one agenda item. For the past two years, the council has retained several lobbyists from the law firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, including ex-Rep. Bill Paxon, R-N.Y., and Barney Skladany. The group also retains the lobbying firm Valis Associates and boasts more than a dozen lobbyists within its D.C. office.

In addition, the council has increased its campaign donations this cycle. Through August, the council gave $55,100 in soft-money donations, compared to only $3,000 during the 1998 campaign cycle, according to FECInfo. The council also gave $162,383 to federal candidates through August 3, compared to $128,356 last cycle, according to Center for Responsive Politics figures. Kalavritinos said he expects the council's warchest to reach approximately $300,000 by the the end of the month, after the group's national convention in San Diego wraps up.

Kalavritinos said that the council has decided to focus its efforts more on the GOP this year, upping the percent of donations it gave to GOP candidates from 73 percent last cycle to 86 percent so far this cycle, according to CRP. While council lobbyists attended both major-party conventions, the group's Philadelphia presence included cosponsorship of a golf tournament and skybox for House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois as well as a rail-car hospitality suite linked to House Majority Whip Tom D. DeLay of Texas.

The contracting issue has inspired more grass-roots interest by members than any issue since the major "TEA-21" transportation funding bill, Kalavritinos said. "We feel very energized," he said.