And Yet Again

Is the lesson of the last six years that we need less regulation and oversight of government contracting?

Sen. Collins would have you believe that it is:

A Senate committee Wednesday approved a bill to extend the Homeland Security Department's authority to contract for specialized research and development without going through regular procurement regulations.

[...]

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, who sponsored the bill, said it would provide "an important, alternative procurement strategy for research and development programs."

The idea, she said, is to accelerate prototyping of break-through technologies by companies that have not generally done business with the government. These firms are usually smaller and less able to handle multiple government regulations, she said.

Translation: More money for the Howe brothers. Less money for programs that actually protect the homeland.