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Federal Daily News

House members ask DOD to lift civilian workforce cap

More than 100 House members signed a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta asking him to back off the ongoing downsizing of the Defense Department’s civilian workforce to fiscal 2010 levels.

The March 26 letter, sent by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) and co-signed by 130 other House members, criticized department’s management of its workforce, in particular the workforce cap instituted in a departmental efficiency initiative launched by Panetta’s predecessor, Robert Gates, who stepped down from the post last year.

According to the lawmakers, the initiative is increasing reliance on private contractors.

“These gimmicks are causing mass layoffs of civilian employees, but they aren’t actually saving any money,” Hinchey said in a press statement. “Because of the arbitrary standards set by the Pentagon, civilian employees are being fired, and private contractors that charge more for the exact same service and are less accountable to the public are being hired.”

Among other measures, the letter also urged the department to comply with the fiscal 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, which caps spending on service contracts at fiscal 2010 levels.

“If the Department insists on capping the civilian workforce at FY 2010 levels, a similar cap should be applied to the service contract spending levels,” the letter stated.

John Gage, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, applauded the letter

“This ill-conceived cap has forced managers to cut tens of thousands of federal jobs, while the much larger and more expensive contractor workforce continues to grow unchecked,” Gage said in a statement. “It’s long past time that we restore some balance and fairness to how the entire workforce is managed and treated. I hope Secretary Panetta takes immediate action to comply with these recommendations.”


 

Reader comments

Wed, Feb 13, 2013

I work for the DOD and I've gotta say I have witnessed outside contractors and businesses repeatingly rape the goverment for the cost of supplies needed for mechanics to do their jobs. A fitting quote I got from an outside supplier that I have to go thru cost $937.62 but when I looked up same fitting direct thru manufacturer it was $75. That's s 1200 percent increase. Well guess what were going to make em in house! That's just one example of ways contractors cost more.

Thu, Jul 19, 2012

ummm...the same Federal government that ramped up DoD civilian worforce in 2009/2010 with 2:1 contractor reductions? (I was there and saw it). The same federal government that frankly doesn't have the talent level needed in advanced knowledge areas to get the job done? The same federal government that got around pay freezes by promoting internally (take a look sometime at USAJobs to figure out what has been happening)? the same federal governemnt that is planning 10s of thousands in force active duty reductions? DoD is being retrenched across the board as $698 billion annually is pared back to some unknown threshold.

Fri, Apr 6, 2012 Personal Service Aberdeen PG

Contractors are out of hand in numbers here at my organization. They have zero overhead they use government phones, vehicles, tools, electronic data equipment, same office space, supplies and the greater in numbers the richer the company becomes and the more the government loses its expertise and over all say regarding its support. Intermingling with the government work force as equals really bothers me. So let’s stop government cuts and retain what remains of our government work force.

Tue, Apr 3, 2012 Ammo Joe

Sounds like a clear cut case of divide and conquer. They doesn't want to be seen as the bad guys so they're offering the "olive branch" but don't turn your back. Wait for it, here comes the knife in the back. Remember it's an election year and both parties want to gain control of Congress.

Thu, Mar 29, 2012

Let's see if I've got this right. Government employees make more than their civilian counterparts on one hand. But, on the other DoD Civilian employees make less than DoD Contractors. How can that be? Don't get me wrong. I think that the house (at least 130 members) has it right this time and I support their request. It is my experience that DoD pays as well as other branches of government for comperable workers. Contractor salaries tend to be all over the place, depending on the expertice required.

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