Veto Is Threatened as House Votes to Delay Base Closiings, Restrict Job Competitions in DOD The House defied a veto threat and voted to delay military base closings for two years and to limit competitive sourcing in the Defense Department. The provisions are part of the 2005 Defense Authorization bill, H.R. 4200, passed by the House May 20. The Senate earlier had voted to go ahead with the 2005 round of base closings. The Bush administration said the president’s senior advisers would recommend a veto if the closings were delayed or restricted. The House vote for a delay was 259-162, short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto. The House bill also includes several restrictions on competitive sourcing in the Defense Department. Section 323 of the bill would abolish streamlined competitions for any unit with 10 or more employees. DOD employees would be permitted to reorganize their operations before comparing their costs with the private sector. The section would give DOD employees a 10% cost advantage in those competitions. In most other agencies, the cost advantage applies only in competitions involving more than 65 employees. Those provisions were first enacted in the 2004 Defense Appropriations Act, but are due to expire this year unless extended. Chris Jahn, President of the Contract Services Association of America, said, “The impact will be that small, minority and women-owned business will have reduced opportunities to compete for and win competitive sourcing contracts.” The bill also would require contractors in a competition to offer health benefits that are comparable to the government’s benefits. Section 324 would order DOD to allow its employees to compete for some jobs now performed by contractors and to compete against contractors for some new projects. The administration said presidential advisers would recommend a veto if those provisions stay in the final bill, to be crafted by a House-Senate conference committee. The Senate postponed a vote on its version of the bill, S. 2400, until after Memorial Day.