Bills
| 3.23.22

Reducing Spending on Defense Department Contractors (S. 2286)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is S. 2286?

(Updated November 14, 2014)

Commonly referred to as the CUTS Act, this bill would reduce Department of Defense spending on contractors to pre-Iraq war levels.  According to the bill's sponsor, John Walsh (D-MT), the bill would:

·         Require the Defense Department to reduce spending on service contractors to pre-Iraq war levels over the next decade, resulting in less spending by hundreds of billions of dollars.
·         Require the DOD Inspector General to complete an analysis of service contractors globally with an emphasis on identifying redundancies and distinguishing areas of growth since 2002. It also requires the Inspector General to report those findings annually to Congress and make the report public.
·         Require DOD to reduce spending on service contractors by requiring consistent data showing how much money is being spent on service contractors and identify ways to reduce reliance on service contractors.
·         Require the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to provide Congress a comprehensive annual report on the federal procurement of service contractors by the 17 parts of the U.S. Intelligence Community including the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.  
·         Place a salary cap on service contractors by not allowing them to earn more than the President, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
·         Enforce spending limits by withholding funding for defense service contractors if a one-third reduction isn’t met within three years of enactment.

Argument in favor

Defense spending on contractors has spiraled out of control: contracted workers should not make more than the President of the United States, and presently do, in addition to often costing twice as much as their civilian counterparts.

Argument opposed

Could mean more work, and more types of work, for enlisted men and women. Service contractors perform specialized jobs that neither civilians nor servicemen and servicewomen can or should do. Would decrease national security.

Impact

If enacted, the bill would decrease Department of Defense spending on contractors. This decrease would in turn be likely to decrease overall defense spending, thereby reducing the federal deficit. Enlisted men and women would likely see an increase in variance of job tasks and job assignments. Could provide more employment opportunities for civilian workers.

Cost of S. 2286

A CBO cost estimate is not currently available, though Sentor Walsh has stated that since 2002, taxpayers have spent $2 trillion on defense and intelligence contractors, and $180 billion in 2013 alone, and that the bill would “result in less spending by hundreds of billions of dollars.”

Additional Info

Media: 



Of Note: 

-According to the American Federation of Government Employees, while “military personnel are being reduced by 8.7%, and civilian personnel are being reduced by 9.1% [the] DoD’s spending on service contracts is actually increasing from $52.8 billion in FY14 to $53.1 billion in FY15.”