December 19, 2002

Washington, D.C.—There are meaningful ways to improve the federal government’s contracting process, the leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal workers said today, but revisions proposed by the administration to that process fall short. The government’s reckless proposals are a missed opportunity that does little more than eliminate the rights of front line employees and stacks competitions in favor of the private sector.

President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) made those remarks as the union submitted lengthy comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in response to OMB’s proposal for substantial revisions in its Circular A-76, which governs most federal contracting practices.

"The proposed revisions make it clear that the administration’s objective is to privatize, with or without competition, more than 850,000 federal jobs," President Kelley said, adding that "the administration has missed an opportunity to provide clarification, to ensure fairness, and demand accountability from contractors." The union leader urged the administration "to shift the focus of sourcing policies back to improving the delivery of government services to the taxpayers."

President Kelley said the proposal is harmful not just to federal workers, but to American taxpayers who will wind up paying more than is necessary to get the job done and who will have less ability to monitor how their tax dollars are spent.

As clear evidence of the administration’s real intent, the NTEU president pointed to a move that would dramatically increase the number of federal jobs eligible for competition by the private sector.

Under current law, there are about 850,000 federal jobs defined by agencies as potentially commercial in nature. But under the proposed revisions, the administration wants to establish a new baseline for federal work that starts with the supposition that all federal work is commercial in nature—and thus subject to privatization—unless an agency can justify, in writing, its conclusion that the jobs are inherently governmental.

Not only would this sweeping change in government policy have potentially devastating effects on the federal workforce, Kelley said, it would severely diminish the ability of the federal government to perform the work the public expects and needs.

"There should be great concern, both in Congress and among members of the public, about private contractor access to information the American people have a right to believe will be safeguarded by their government, including tax and financial information," she said.

Kelley was particularly critical of the "unrealistic time constraints" contained in the proposed A-76 revisions for agencies to conduct public-private competitions. Under the proposal, if the competition is not concluded within 12 months, the jobs will be contracted out without competition. "These proposed rules emphasize speed in privatizing federal jobs at the expense of quality and cost savings," she said.

In its comments, NTEU again urged accountability and oversight of contractors, guaranteed opportunities for federal workers to compete in defense of their jobs, and appeal rights for federal employees and NTEU to challenge faulty contract awards.

As the largest independent federal union, NTEU represents more than 150,000 employees in 28 agencies and departments.

See the attached background document for more details on the NTEU position concerning A-76.