Bailout
Bill Doesn't Need to Waive
Federal Acquisition Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2008
Bailout Bill Doesn't Need to Waive
Federal Acquisition Law
Bailout Bill Could Create Billions
in Abuses by Waving Federal
Contracting Laws
Petaluma, Calif. - The following is
a statement by American Small
Business League President Lloyd
Chapman:
In its present form, the bailout
bill will give Bush Administration
officials broad power to waive any
provision of the Federal Acquisition
Regulation (FAR) they choose for an
indefinite period of time.
Section 107 of the bill could be a
recipe for disaster at a time when
the national economy has plummeted
as the direct result of a blatant
lack of proper government oversight.
It would be foolhardy and
irresponsible for Congress to grant
the very individuals that are
directly responsible for one of the
worst economic disasters in United
States history even more power to
ignore federal procurement law for
as long as they deem necessary.
The multitude of problems that could
arise by allowing government
officials to ignore even the most
foundational principals of the FAR
could be catastrophic. Staggering
abuses in federal contracting are a
common occurrence. Many of the
nation's largest defense contractors
are regularly found to be defrauding
the federal government out of
hundreds of millions and even
billions in taxpayer dollars.
Waving provisions of the FAR could
result in billions of dollars in
fraud and abuse at multiple levels
of government. Government officials
cannot be trusted with the power to
waive any federal procurement law
they deem unnecessary.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was
the Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Goldman Sacks before he
came to Washington and he will no
doubt be back on Wall Street in an
equally if not more powerful
position in 90 days. Of all the Bush
Administration officials that
deserve their fair share of
responsibility for our nation's
financial disaster, Treasury
Secretary Paulson's name should be
close to the top of the list.
Treasury Secretary Paulson should
not be trusted to waive provisions
of the FAR, which could be
beneficial to his past and future
employers on Wall Street and
detrimental to the primary goal of
the bailout bill, which is to
bolster the national economy. More
fraud, abuse and loopholes for Wall
Street and government officials will
not make our nation's financial
institutions more sound, create more
jobs or help middle class Americans
pay their bills.
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Contact:
Christopher Gunn
Communications Director
American Small Business League
cgunn@asbl.com
(707) 789-9575
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