Davis Warns of Democrats’ Procurement Agenda A leading Republican voice on procurement issues, Virginia Rep. Tom Davis, says contractors can expect “assault after assault” from the Democratic-controlled Congress. Pointing to the Accountability in Contracting Act, H.R. 1362, passed by the House last month, Davis said it imposes “layers on layers of reporting mechanisms.” The bill would require agencies to report to Congress on all questioned or unsupported contractor costs amounting to $10 million or more. “You’re going to see assault after assault on contracting…every time there’s an overrun,” Davis told an audience of contractors at an April 12 forum sponsored by FedSources Inc. in McLean, VA. The bill was sponsored by Davis’s successor as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, California Democrat Henry Waxman. Its major provisions are also included in the supplemental Defense Department appropriation that has passed the House and is awaiting a conference with the Senate. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill because it sets a timetable for ending the Iraq war. The bill seeks to limit the use of sole-source and cost-reimbursement contracts. (SAA, 3/23) Davis said Democrats want “to make everything fixed-price.” Davis said the House is prone to pass restrictions on contracting in response to negative headlines. “Most members don’t understand [procurement], but they tend to legislate anecdotally,” he said. Democrat Jim Moran of Virginia, told the group he is preparing a package of acquisition amendments to the 2008 defense appropriations bill. He is a member of the Appropriations Committee. Moran said his proposals will include efforts to strengthen the federal acquisition workforce, which has shrunk while procurement has expanded.