In a conference committee version of the Defense appropriations bill two amendments for restricting outsourcing of federal jobs were dropped. On September 26, the bill which passed the House 394-22 and is expected to clear the Senate does not have a senate amendment that would have allowed the Defense Department for excluding retirement benefit costs when reviewing industry and federal employee bids for jobs.
John Threlkeld, legislative representative. American Federation of Government Employees, which supported the amendment said:
The defeated measure would have allowed the competition to proceed based on who provides the best service, not who has the cheapest retirement plan.
