 Contracting Out.The Council is a strong proponent of both federal and state contracting out of engineering services, asserting that such work is not “inherently a governmental” and can be best and most economically performed by the private sector.In 2000, ACEC was a key advocate of the "Thomas Amendment" in the Water Resources and Development Act, which limits the extent to which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can compete with private engineering firms in municipal works such as schools, hospitals, and utilities.