Congress OKs Bill to Cut Red Tape for Companies

Congress gave final approval Tuesday to a bill that would slash red tape for companies bidding on U.S. contracts worth $100,000 or less.

The House voted 425 to 0 in favor of the measure--already passed by the Senate--that would streamline the cumbersome government system for buying goods and services in order to give small businesses a better chance at competing for federal work.

The legislation would repeal or simplify more than 225 provisions of federal law and require greater public disclosure at key points in the contracting process.

“There is no doubt that the $200 billion spent by the federal government each year is done in an inefficient and Byzantine way,” said Rep. William F. Clinger Jr. (R-Pa.), ranking GOP member of the panel and a co-sponsor.

This legislation “is a direct attack on a procurement system that’s gone haywire,” he said.

“We effectively are revolutionizing how the federal government does business in order to avoid buying the $600 hammers and toilet seats which have properly outraged everyone,” said Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Government Operations committee and a co-sponsor of the bill.

Spurred by complaints from business executives, Congress decided to lower paperwork requirements and nonessential specifications for government buying that add to the cost of items but do little to improve quality.

The bill would also create a computer network within the next five years to speed up government contracting procedures by using the latest information technology to publicize bidding opportunities.