Free Republic

Although he stopped short of calling the federal procurement system broken, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said today the system is inaccurate and unhelpful. Waxman blamed the former Republican-led Congress for neglecting oversight. Waxman, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, vowed to have that panel review contracting regulations. “We have seen a dramatic increase in procurement contracts in the government in all areas,” Waxman said in a speech at the Security Industry Association's 2007 Government Summit in Washington. But, he said, “a strong part of the ideology of this [the Bush] administration is to contract out.” “In...

Opponents of a new executive branch lobbying reform bill working its way through the U.S. House of Representatives warn that it will impede an ordinary citizen's absolute right to communicate with government officials. Conservatives groups have expressed outrage over the proposed law — one that targets not just lobbyists but organizations trying to effect public policy. When Rep. Henry A. Waxman, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House, introduced H.R. 984, the Executive Branch Reform Act, last month, he promised it represented "good government" reform. Critics, however, think it should be renumbered "H.R. 1984" because...