Congress Hammers TSA Exemption From FAR

In hearings on August 1 before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight, David Bodenheimer testified that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) should be stripped of its exemptions from the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in order to bolster competition, reduce regulatory fragmentation, and open TSA procurements to protests and Contract Disputes Act litigation applicable to other agencies. On the next day, the House introduced a bill that, in conjunction with a pending Senate amendment, would bring TSA back into the acquisition mainstream.