The key thing here is that this bill was passed just in time to deal with DynCorp’s billion dollar contract. Which is great. I would certainly hope that the government would actually care about how this money is spent and that they get their money’s worth. Although my view on the thing is that actions speak louder than words, and I will believe it when I see some actual adult supervision on this stuff.
I really liked the last provision listed which “prohibits small arms contracts from being awarded on a sole source basis and require those contracts be awarded based on full and open competition in order to get the best weapons for our troops in combat.” Wow, that is cool! Hopefully this will open up things a little to all companies out there, and contribute to a truly innovative and vibrant competition that would result in getting the best possible weapons into the hands of the troops. –Matt
Senate Passes Key Defense Policy Bill with McCaskill Provisions
December 22, 2010
Senator’s provisions will improve healthcare and benefits for military, increase contracting oversight, and address F/A-18 shortfall.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill applauded the passage of a major defense policy bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2011, which was passed unanimously by the Senate this morning. The NDAA outlines funding levels for the Department of Defense (DoD) for the coming fiscal year and addresses major defense policy matters. When the bill passed the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCaskill, who serves as a member of the committee, was able to win inclusion of several important amendments in the bill that will help improve access to healthcare for the military and improve oversight of DoD contractors. Despite fairly significant changes to the bill before final passage, many of her measures were included in the final bill.