Another DoD Reform Approach Raised

A bipartisan group of Senators active in civil service issues has offered legislation (S-1166) to revise many personnel practices affecting Defense Department civilian employees that they hope will be the basis for a compromise on the issue. The bill seeks to grant most of the new personnel management powers the Pentagon has requested-and which the House largely adopted as part of a DoD authorization bill-while addressing certain concerns raised by employee organizations and some members of Congress about revoking too many employee protections in the name of managerial flexibility. The sponsors, including Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, hope to move the legislation as either a free-standing bill or to use it as the basis for the Senate’s position in a conference with the House on the DoD authorization bill. The Senate-passed version of that bill is silent on the personnel reform issue.