Contact: Gail Raiman, (703) 812-2073 For Immediate Release
Gerry Fritz, (703) 812-2062 May 16, 2011
Washington, D.C. – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today criticized the Obama administration over a draft Executive Order that would inject politics into the federal government contracting process. The Executive Order would force all companies bidding for federal contracts to disclose their political spending, as well as personal contributions made by their officers and directors.
“Political advocacy is protected by the First Amendment, and under current law the federal government has neither access to this information nor do they have the right to use this information in determining which companies are awarded taxpayer-funded projects,” said ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman.
“However, this Executive Order would politicize the bidding process and open the door to cronyism and malfeasance. The Executive Order would not improve the procurement process in any way, but would only serve to inject politics into an area where it has no place or value,” said Bellaman.
“We believe that federal contracts should be awarded based on merit and provide the best value to taxpayers, not to whom you support politically,” Bellaman said.
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Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national association with 75 chapters representing more than 23,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms with nearly two million employees. Visit us at
www.abc.org.