Homeland Security panel clears procurement bill
Lawmakers want to encourage contractors that don’t usually do business with the government to develop cutting-edge security technology.
A Senate committee Wednesday approved a bill to extend the Homeland Security Department's authority to contract for specialized research and development without going through regular procurement regulations.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed the bill (S. 3328), which would extend the authority for one year, on a voice vote.
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, who sponsored the bill, said it would provide "an important, alternative procurement strategy for research and development programs."
The idea, she said, is to accelerate prototyping of break-through technologies by companies that have not generally done business with the government. These firms are usually smaller and less able to handle multiple government regulations, she said.
"Programs authorized to use OTA [Other Transaction Authority] are free to negotiate provisions that are mutually acceptable to all parties, such as intellectual-property and indemnity provisions," Collins said in a statement. "This encourages non-traditional contractors to develop cutting-edge technologies that would otherwise be unavailable to the government."
The House has not yet considered the bill.