February 18, 2002—The Bush Administration has indicated its support for passage of comprehensive reform of Federal Prison Industries, Congressman Pete Hoekstra announced February 7, 2002. “We are encouraged by this expression of support, and hope it will become a strong force in winning passage of an FPI reform bill that eliminates FPI’s monopoly on the federal market,” said Hoekstra, R-Michigan. “Allowing federal agencies, rather than FPI, to make purchasing decisions on products and services is good for federal managers, good for businesses and law-abiding workers, and good for American taxpayers.”
The Administration’s support is specifically for a provision in the 2002 Defense Authorization bill, sponsored by Senators Carl Levin, D-Michigan, and John Warner, R-Virginia, that allows Defense buyers to seek the best value on their purchases. The letter indicating Administration support also indicates the Administration’s willingness to work with Congress to pass a comprehensive FPI reform bill that ends FPI’s mandatory source privilege with the government: “The Administration.believes that all Federal agencies should have the flexibility through competition to purchase quality goods and services at fair and reasonable prices with the expectation of timely performance.”
H.R. 1577, the Hoekstra-Frank-Collins-Maloney Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act, has garnered wide support, with 122 cosponsors on both sides of the aisle. It is strongly backed by a broad coalition that includes business associations, led by the US Chamber of Commerce; labor unions, led by the AFL-CIO; and federal managers, represented by the Federal Managers Association. The bill is currently undergoing consideration in the House Judiciary Committee. For more information on reform efforts of the Depression-era prison factory program, visit the Competition in Contracting Act Coalition (CCAC).
Based on a release from the office of Pete Hoekstra
