The American Federation of Government Employees has asked
for details on the cost of implementing the Department of
Defense’s new National Security Personnel System,
criticizing the tradeoff given other defense needs.
“Despite the reams of paper outlining details and
procedures under the proposed system, little information
has been made available to the public on the costs
associated with implementing the new system,” said AFGE
president John Gage.
Gage balked at a $175 million contract given to Northrop
Grumman just to design the new system for the Department
of Homeland Security, when DoD’s total estimate for
NSPS is $158 million through fiscal 2008.
“When has the design ever cost less than the final
product?” asked Ron Ault, president of the AFL-CIO Metal
Trades Department.
He speculated that the NSPS could cost billions to
implement given estimated implementation costs for a
similar plan in DHS.
