Ban on A-76 Competitions for Outsourcing Extended in Omnibus Bill
December 22, 2011
The consolidated spending bill that President Obama is expected to sign Friday includes language extending a three-year-old ban on A-76 studies, or agency competitions for pending work that pits federal employees against contractors.
Congress early in the Obama administration reversed a 2003 George W. Bush administration effort to outsource more agency work to contractors, prohibiting competitions run under rules from Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76.
The final version of the fiscal 2012 Financial Services Appropriations bill passed this month by Congress includes language sought by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., that continues a prohibition on A-76 studies "to level the playing field," she said in a statement.