Kennedy Anti-Outsourcing Amendment Defeated

CMAA and our allied industry associations won a close vote June 26th to kill the anti-outsourcing amendment offered by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) to S. 2514.  The Senate voted 50-49 to table the Kennedy amendment that sought to restrict the Department of Defense's ability to contract with private industry.

CMAA has been working hard on Capitol Hill to demonstrate the impact that the Kennedy Amendment would have on our member’s ability to provide construction and program management services to the DoD.

We are indebted to Senator John Warner (R-VA) and Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY) who helped lead the fight against this amendment.  While the vote was mainly along party lines, CMAA was pleased to have the support of democrats Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) and Senator John Breaux (D-LA). Senators Bond (R-MO), Brownback (R-KS), Allen (R-VA) and Thompson (R-TN) participated in the floor debate. Senator Bond, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business, said that the Kennedy Amendment was "intended to cripple small business." Senator Thompson focused on the need for guaranteeing best value when making procurement decisions.