CONGRESS DROPS REGISTRATION PLAN FOR DEFENSE CONSULTANTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP89T00234R000200280007-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 19, 2013
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: October 4, 1988
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/02/19: CIA-RDP89T00234R000200280
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1988
007-9
CI4 e_01. 3
Congress Drops Registration Plan for Defense,Gonsultants
By Sandra Sugawara
Washington Post Staff Writer
After intense industry lobbying by
defense contractors, major account-
ing firms, the legal community and -
an array of business groups, Con-
gress has dropped front the Defense
Department appropriations bill a re-
quirement that Pentagon consul-
tants be registered with the govern-
ment.
House and Senate conferees also
have backed away from sharp spend-
ing cuts that were aimed at curtail-
ing the amount of outside consul-
tants used by the Pentagon.
The Pentagon procurement scan-
dal this summer, which revolved
around the use of consultants by the
Pentagon and defense contractors,
prompted demands in Congress and
elsewhere for increased regulation
of defense consultants, many of
whom are based in the Washington
area. In the wake of the scandal, the
Senate passed both the consultant-
registration and spending-cut meas-?
ures as part of the appropriationh
bill, but neither provision was ,includ-
ed in the House bill.
The registration plan was intended
to help the government spot consul-
tants who had conflicts of interest and
to monitor consultants' actions.
Under a compromise worked out
over the past two weeks between
Sen. David H. Pryor (D-Ark.), the
sponsor of the consultant registration '
measure, and opponents of the regis-
tration requirement, led by Sen. John
Warner (R-Va.), the issue wobld be
bumjjed over to the Office of Federal
Procurement Policy.
--,4 -
The procurement office nowthiutt .'Ornpromtse ? effective damage con-
issue a government-wide polaoli-4 61;1 and a much more pidAta6le *-
consultants within 90 days and tifitl'ori,*faChs than the Senate bill. ,
lations enforcing that policy within: , :Pryor said he was pleased Ali the
18111 days. But if the procurement of 050 million cut?even though it was
fic4! finds that registration would be far smaller than the the cuts he origi-
urtiVecessarily burdensome for indti nally sought?because it will require
the Pentagon "to prioritize its consul-
d- tint spending and make some of the
itig to an aide to Pryor. tough decisions that are going to be
Although the compromise wou
reduce the amount of money the Pe
tagon can spend on companies th
Id necessary to control the growth of
n- consultant use at DOD." Pryor was
at less enthusiastic about the registra-
provide management and professional lion compromise, calling it "half a
services, studies and analyses and loaf."
. try and the goVernmerit, it can deci
not to i

, technical assistance by about 6 per-
cent?or $150 million?the earlier
Senate action would have reduced
spending by about 15 percent, or
$430 million.
Mark Schultz, president of the Pro-
fessional Services Council, called the
Pry_or's original proposal would
t have required any consultant who
worked for the Pentagon or who
helped other contractors prepare or
submit Defense Department bids and
proposals to register with the federal
government.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/02/19: CIA-RDP89T00234R000200280007-9