Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Vic Snyder joined 416 colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass H.R. 5013, the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery (IMPROVE) Acquisition Act. This bipartisan legislation would fundamentally reform how the Department of Defense purchases goods and services to eliminate waste and curb fraud.
“Our military service members rely on an efficient and effective acquisition system to do their jobs and keep them safe on the battlefield,” said Snyder. “This sweeping legislation is critical to ensure that contractors are held accountable to our military and its’ members.”
The IMPROVE Acquisition Act would require the development of a performance management system to improve the workforce quality among the staff in the acquisition department. The measure would implement more fiscal focus in obtaining commercial pricing — seeking out more non-traditional suppliers and shifting work away from contractors not meeting cost-standards. Potential federal contractors would be required to have no delinquent taxes totaling more than $3,000 to be eligible to do business with the Defense Department. Finally, the bill would require the Defense Department to incentivize organizations to produce accurate financial records that can be audited before 2017. For a Congressional summary of the bill, please click here.
“Fiscal responsibility is part of our national security. Yet, America faces a massive budget challenge and our current budgetary situation could have dangerous consequences if we do not make changes,” said Snyder. “It is essential that we get our financial records in order. This bill goes a step toward making our defense purchases responsible and accountable to provide indispensible resources and equipment quickly to our men and woman risking their lives to protect this country.”
