Administration Issues Policy Statement

The Bush administration in a formal policy statement on the Senate measure, said the new department’s personnel system “must protect vital employee rights, including, but not limited to, collective bargaining, minority recruitment, guaranteed health insurance, appeals, veterans’ preferences, and whistleblower protections. In addition, the Department’s employees should continue to be covered by generally applicable employment laws such as the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Social Security Act. At the same time, to provide the best security for America, the Secretary must also have flexibility to develop improved and sensible rules in areas relating to the hiring, compensation, assignment, and discipline of employees. The current legislation compels the new Secretary to work with a rigid, statutorily-mandated personnel system that will hinder any effort to build a department capable of responding to an adaptable terrorist enemy. The bill, in fact, would provide significantly less flexibility to the new Department of Homeland Security than that currently available to most other agencies in the federal government.”