A letter signed by more than 60 House Democrats was sent to President Obama today, urging him to sign a draft Executive Order (EO) that would require companies bidding on government contracts to disclose political contributions made within the past two years by their officers and directors to federal candidates and parties. The draft EO, which was leaked in April 2011, is seen by supporters as an effort to increase transparency in federal government contracting in an effort to halt pay-to-play contracting.
Congressional Republicans and industry allies have called the executive order unconstitutional and see it as an effort by the Administration to use executive power to reward their supporters. Some key Democrats such as House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA) also voiced concerns about the draft EO. AGC is concerned that forcing government contractors to disclose all political contributions would make it too easy for political appointees to punish contractors for their political views or to coerce contributions from firms.
On April 29, 2011, AGC voiced these concerns in a letter to the president, and again on May 12 in testimony submitted to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on a hearing examining the proposed EO. AGC stated in both the letter and testimony that the draft EO is unnecessary, noting that there is no evidence to indicate that political contributions are influencing the award of federal contractors. AGC also pointed out that contractors are already required to disclose the vast majority of political spending and that there is already a publicly available web-based searchable database showing all political contributions.
Congressmen Darrell Issa (R-CA) who is also the Chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Tom Cole (R-OK), and Sam Graves (R-MO) have introduced legislation in the House that would bar the federal government from collecting information about federal contractors’ political spending. Identical legislation was also introduced in the Senate by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Rob Portman (R-OH).
President Obama has placed the signing of the draft executive order on hold. Congressional Democrats, however, are hoping the letter will encourage the president to sign the proposed EO. AGC will continue to encourage Members of Congress to oppose the EO and will report on its status as details develop.
For more information, please contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5376 or giamberm@agc.org.
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