Several citizen groups recently sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to support Section 828 of the fiscal year 2008 Defense authorization bill.

Section 828 contains provisions adopted by the Senate from Dr. Coburn's "no-bid" earmarks amendment.  The amendment would prohibit Congress from using earmarks to award “no bid” government grants and contracts.  A “no-bid” grant or contract is government funding that goes directly to an entity after bypassing the standard competitive process. Ideally, government funding is supposed to be awarded only after competing bids are solicited in order to select the most cost efficient and qualified entity to perform a service.