AFGE statement on service contract spending cap in Defense authorization bill

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. today issued the following statement after the House Armed Services Committee voted 37-25 in favor of an amendment to the fiscal 2014 National Defense Authorization Act, offered by Rep. Rob Andrews, that would extend the cap on the Department of Defense's service contract spending through fiscal 2015:

"AFGE thanks the bipartisan support shown by lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee in favor of efficiency and balance.  Instead of caps, the Department ought to be managing by budgets and workloads—if there is work to be done and money to pay for that work to be done, then managers should be free to use military personnel, civilian personnel, or contractors, depending on the usual criteria of the law, cost, policy, and risk.

"The Department's insistence on capping the civilian workforce at FY10 levels through FY18 can't help but illegally shift work from civilian personnel to contractors. So if the civilian workforce is capped, then the service contract workforce should also be capped. We will fight to retain this important reform on the floor and in conference." 

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

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SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees

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