Yesterday, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) introduced in the House companion legislation to Sen. Russ Feingold's (D-WI) recent contracting reform bill. As companion legislation, the House version of the "Federal Contracting Oversight and Reform Act of 2010" is a mirror image of the Feingold bill. The measure has several strong provisions, and, "if enacted, will lay the foundation for future [contracting] reforms." More members of Congress need to support this legislation.

For a complete overview of the bill, see here. A press release from Quigley's office touches on some of the important provisions in the legislation:

• Making the main contractor performance database available to all members of Congress – instead of a select few – so members can properly vet contractors
• Expanding the scope of the contractor database to include all performance information for the last ten years
• Integrating the nine most important databases into a single database to give contracting officials a one-stop shop where they can see all relevant data
• Investigating and creating a new contractor identification system that will allow better tracking of contactors and will stop suspended and debarred companies from creating shell companies
• Requiring an annual review and report to make sure companies that are on the suspended or debarred list are not receiving contracts

Quigley's office has also released a one-pager that goes into greater depth on the provisions of the reform bill.

OMB Watch has lent both Sen. Feingold's and Rep. Quigley's offices our support to help get other senators and representatives signed on as co-sponsors. Sen. Feingold has Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) signed up, and Rep. Quigley introduced his bill with Reps. Jared Polis (D-CO), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) as co-sponsors.

But we need your help too. Please call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask the operator to connect you to the senators and representative of your state, and ask each member to sign on to either the Senate or the House version of the legislation as co-sponsors. We need this bill to pass.

Image by Flickr user scottlenger used under a Creative Commons license.