Federal Daily - February 26, 2010

Lawmaker Blasts High Number of DHS Contractors

Calling it “shocking and unacceptable,” Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., this week questioned Department of Homeland Security officials about why private contractors at the department outnumber DHS civilian employees.

According to DHS estimates, the department has 188,000 civilian employees working for it (not including uniformed members of the Coast Guard), as well as 200,000 contractors—for a total workforce of almost 400,000. DHS officials presented the figures at a Feb. 24 hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which was reviewing the department’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget request.

“To me, this is just a shocking and unacceptable number,” said Lieberman, committee chairman. “Our committee has long been concerned about DHS’s heavy reliance on contractors because it raises the question of efficient use of taxpayer money but also the question of who is in control of the department’s mission: Is it federal contractors or fulltime employees?”

Lieberman noted that DHS has recently undertaken a review of the skewed balance of DHS workers as part of a larger government-wide effort to rein in the practice of using contractors to do civil-service work. “This is just the beginning of a turnaround that is necessary,” Lieberman said.

Lieberman and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine., the committee’s ranking member, have asked DHS to provide an agency by agency breakdown of the ratio of federal civilian employees to contractors.

To see more, go to: http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/.

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NTEU Applauds Proposed Budget Hike for IRS

National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen Kelley on Feb. 24 applauded President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget allocation of $12.6 billion for the IRS. The budget seeks a $487 million increase in IRS funding in FY 2011 (a 4 percent hike), and calls for a boost in enforcement and taxpayer service resources.

At a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the proposed budget, Kelley told lawmakers that IRS can use the money to rebuild its workforce, which she said has shrunk by about 20,000 positions in the past 15 years.

“By investing in effective enforcement and taxpayer service programs, the administration’s request will ensure the IRS continues to meet its mission of providing America’s taxpayers top-quality service,” said Kelley.

Kelley also asked lawmakers to extend a prohibition on the use of IRS funds to hire private tax collectors. The IRS canceled its private collection program last year, but the program could be revived because statutory authority for it still exists. Kelley also urged members to adopt language from the administration’s FY 2011 budget request that extends a moratorium on new A-76 public-private job competitions for another year. The moratorium is in place for the current fiscal year.

“NTEU has long maintained that federal employees, when given the appropriate tools and resources, do the work of the federal government better and more efficiently that any private entity,” Kelley said. “We are hopeful that Congress and the administration can work together to reverse the past eight years of misguided pressures to outsource federal employee work.”

To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1528.

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DoD Upgrades Web Site for Wounded and Ill Servicemembers

DoD on Feb. 23 announced it has upgraded a Web site that offers assistance to injured and ill servicemembers, their families and caregivers.

The National Resource Directory Web site—a collaborative effort between DoD and the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Labor—collects federal, state, local and non-profit resources into a one searchable site. Upgrades include a number of user-friendly enhancements, including a bookmark and share application that helps visitors alert others to information via Facebook, Twitter and other social networking tools. Visitors now also can subscribe to RSS or e-mail updates to receive new content based on specific interests and needs.

The new site features a new, faster search engine that includes user-defined filters, and which ranks information based on its popularity among other site users. The redesigned site also highlights resources to assist homeless vets.

To see more, go to: www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13328.

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