SA 406. Mr. DODD submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 275 proposed by Mr. Reid (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, and Ms. Collins) to the bill S. 4, to make the United States more secure by implementing unfinished recommendations of the 9/11 Commission to fight the war on terror more effectively, to improve homeland security, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title XV, add the following:
SEC. 1505. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.
(a) Report Required.--Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report on the utilization of personal services contracts by the Department of Homeland Security.
(b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1) An assessment of the extent to which the utilization by the Department of Homeland Security of personal services contracts has--
(A) reduced or impaired the ability of the Department to retain core functional capabilities that allow it to properly perform its mission;
(B) inhibited adequate oversight by the Department of functions performed by its contractors;
(C) undermined the integrity of decision-making processes within the Department;
(D) hindered the ability of the Department to meet the critical recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States that the Department ``regularly assess the types of threats the country faces,'' and ``assess the readiness of the government to respond to threats that the United States may face''; and
(E) resulted in the outsourcing to private contractors or contracting firms of the ownership and retention of institutional knowledge, expertise, and intellectual property that are essential components of the ability of the Department to implement its basic mission and achieve its policy objectives.
(2) An assessment whether or not the Department is maintaining appropriate controls to prevent conflicts of interest or ethics violations involving personnel under its personal service contracts.
(3) A discussion of the implications of applying to personnel under personal service contracts of the Department the ethics and conflict of interest rules requirements that commonly apply to Federal employees.
(4) A discussion of such other matters (including matters relating to cost, transparency, accountability, and national security) in the utilization by the Department of personal services contracts as the Comptroller General considers appropriate.


(As printed in the Congressional Record for the Senate on Mar 8, 2007.)