S.Amdt. 3036

SA 3036. Mr. VITTER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 83, setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2007 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2006 and 2008 through 2011; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 59, after line 7, add the following:

SEC. 408. DISASTER RELIEF.

It is the sense of the Senate that--

(1) Hurricanes Katrina and Rita exposed a number of problems with Government bureaucracy, which are significantly slowing the delivery of aid to many of the areas and people who most need it;

(2) victims of disasters will benefit greatly when post-disaster contracting is conducted in a more efficient, open, and responsible way; and

(3) Congress should take action to reform the post-disaster contracting process to ensure that--

(A) appropriate action is taken to reduce fraud and abuse in post-disaster programs;

(B) full and open competition is used, unless emergency circumstances require otherwise;

(C) no-bid “mega-contracts” are awarded only in emergency situations and are limited to a short duration;

(D) more local firms are awarded contracts, to the extent feasible, to ensure that local jobs are created with the emergency response and rebuilding efforts; and

(E) all possible action is taken to root out bureaucratic waste and unnecessary tiers of contractors and subcontractors in post-disaster housing, emergency repair, and other programs, to help ensure that disaster victims get help quickly and that the most effective, efficient methods of providing assistance after a storm are employed.