The House committee report also says that any reductions in DoD civilian and contractor personnel “should be done smartly and aim to retain high-performing personnelwith the requisite talents, multidisciplinary knowledge, and up-to-date skills to helpthe department remain agile in addressing the growing array of diverse threatsfacing the country and missions assigned to the department.”
An earlier version of the bill would have required that in any personnel reductions, DoD would have to elevate the value of performance in a RIF decision. However, that was changed during committee deliberations, partly out of concern about the potential impact on veterans preference, another element of the RIF formula.
While the mandatory language was dropped, the report says the committee “believes that the department may need additional flexibility to manage the workforce. The committee seeks to provide the secretary of defense with the necessary authority and support to exercise such flexibility. The committee will continue working with the department to enable it to make the tough decisions necessary for shaping and managing the workforce and to provide the department with the tools necessary to recruit, hire, develop, and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve and support the nation.”
It orders the Pentagon to brief the committee by June 30 “on any legislative authority or regulatory policies in place that limit the Secretary of Defense’s ability to appropriately balance the military, civilian, and contractor personnel within the department. As part of this briefing, the committee directs the Secretary of Defense to provide an evaluation of the federal regulations governing the credit for performance that the department uses in its determination of personnel retention standing, with a specific focus on how it impacts the department’s ability to retain high-quality personnel.”
