Obama EO on federal contractors under fire from Dem Senators

(By Ed Morrissey, Hot Air) - The momentum against the planned executive order from Barack Obama to force managers at government contractors to disclose political contributions to independent organizations gained momentum today as two key Democrats in the Senate joined Republicans in opposition. Joe Lieberman and Claire McCaskill, the latter of whom faces an uncertain re-election bid in 2012, signed a letter written by Rob Portman objecting to the politicization of government contracting that Obama’s EO would inevitably produce:

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, are joining Republicans who say that the order could inject politics into contracting decisions.

“We share your commitment to ensuring that the federal contracting process is not influenced by political activity or favoritism,” said a letter to Obama, which was obtained by POLITICO and also signed by Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, the top Republicans on the full committee and subcommittee. Portman took the lead on writing the letter.

“However, we are concerned that requiring businesses to disclose their political activity when making an offer risks injecting politics into the contracting process.”