Administration Orders Review of NSPS

In a move that could lay the groundwork for significantly revising or even abandoning the national security personnel system, the Obama administration has ordered a review of the program to be run by the Pentagon and OPM that is to include soliciting the views of outside stakeholders—prominent among which will be federal unions, which have opposed the program since its inception. The administration said the review will take several months, which would leave time for Congress to act legislatively if necessary during the upcoming budget cycle or, alternatively, for the White House to make changes administratively before next year’s pay raises will be determined. In the short run, the announcement will have relatively little direct impact, since those already under NSPS—about 205,000 white collar employees not eligible for union representation—will remain under the current policies; the review will have the effect of keeping the last 2,000 employees scheduled to move into NSPS in their current status. The announcement said the focus will be on whether the system is "fair, transparent, and effective" Employee organizations have long contended—and two reports done for Congress last year concluded—that NSPS falls short by those measures.