Joanna
>Reply-To: pen-l at galaxy.csuchico.edu
>From: "Ian Murray" <seamus2001 at attbi.com>
>To: "pen-l" <pen-l at galaxy.csuchico.edu>
>
>[preparing for GATS....]
>
>(11-14) 12:32 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --
>
>President Bush plans to subject as many as 850,000 federal jobs to
>competition from the private sector, administration officials said Thursday,
>a sweeping reform long sought by Republicans and stiffly opposed by labor
>unions.
>
>Nearly half of the government's civilian work force could be affected by the
>plan to be published in the Federal Register on Friday. After a 30-day
>public review period, Bush can impose the new rules without congressional
>approval.
>
>"This is inherent to getting the taxpayers the best deal for their dollars
>and the best service from the government," said Trent Duffy, spokesman for
>the Office of Management and Budget.
>
>Bush and his fellow Republicans have long favored opening public sector jobs
>to competition from outside government. They argue that competitive bidding
>will force government bureaucracies to improve service and lower costs -- or
>lose business to the private sector.
>
>Public employee unions are expected to fight the proposal, which could cost
>their rank and file jobs.
>
>"The Bush administration officials are at war with reliable and experienced
>rank-and-file federal employees," said Bobby L. Harnage Sr., president of
>the American Federation of Government Employees. "They are systematically
>conspiring to bust their unions, gut their civil service protections and
>hand over their jobs to politically well-connected contractors."
>
>The proposal comes at the heels of last week's GOP victories in
>congressional elections ,which emboldened Bush and his agenda. The White
>House is poised to beat back union opposition to another administration
>initiative, this one in Congress: the creation of the Homeland Security
>Department.
>
>Current federal rules allow for public-private competition, administration
>officials say, but the regulations are so cumbersome that private firms are
>often reluctant to seek government contracts.
>
>Under the plan, "commercial activities" conducted by the government -- from
>lawn mowing to hanging drywall and secretarial work -- will be open to
>competition. There are 850,000 such jobs in the federal work force; Bush has
>set a goal of putting 50 percent of those jobs up for grabs in the first
>stage of the plan, officials said, with the intention of eventually opening
>the total 850,000 to competition.
>
>White House spokesman Scott McClellan would not talk about the job prospects
>of the affected employees, but said, "What we're trying to do is make
>government work better for the American taxpayer."
>
>Traditional high-ranking government positions would not be subject to the
>proposal, according to administration officials who outlined the proposal.
>
>One reform would encourage agencies to complete competitive bid reviews
>within a year. Under current rules, the competitive bid process can take
>four years -- a delay that scares off private sector bids, officials said.
>
>Rules under which the government buys goods and services will be streamlined
>to allow for more competitive bidding, officials said.
>
>The Government Accounting Office has determined that public-private
>competition will save taxpayers 30 percent on each contract.
>
>Expecting opposition from public employees unions, administration officials
>argue that the initiative would encourage unions to compete and win
>contracts; it does not mandate that the private sector takeover the jobs.
>
>Bush picked this new fight with federal unions one day after it became clear
>that he had won another battle with them. With Republicans ready to take
>full control of Congress, Democrats were largely abandoning their demands
>for union protections at the new Department of Homeland Security.
>
>The House easily passed a bill that would establish the department on
>Wednesday, and the Senate was ready to follow suit.