This vote was on an amendment by Patty Murray, D-Wash., that would stipulate that contracts or grants awarded under this bill must be competitively bid unless the grantee or contractor is a small business or women or minority-owned business.  The amendment was offered to the bill that funds the Homeland Security Department in fiscal 2010.

Murray offered her amendment just prior to a related one by Tom Coburn, R-Okla.  Coburn’s amendment would have stipulated that contracts and grants at the Department of Homeland Security should go through the government’s competitive bidding process.  It eventually failed (see vote 227).

“His amendment is drafted in a way that precludes certain types of contracts that are authorized by statute and have the strong support of Congress. For example, his amendment doesn’t acknowledge contracts that are authorized by the Small Business Act, such as minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, businesses owned by service-disabled veterans,” Murray said.

By a vote of 67-24, the amendment was adopted.  Every Democrat present voted for the amendment.  Of Republicans present, 13 voted for the amendment and 24 voted against it.  The end result is that the measure went forward with language stipulating that small businesses and minority and women-owned businesses do not have to undergo a competitive bidding process in order to be awarded a grant or contract by the Homeland Security Department.