Congress Again Clears NSPS Restrictions

The Senate has joined the House in passing a revised version of the fiscal 2008 DoD authorization bill that contains provisions repealing or altering several key aspects of the national security personnel system. The same provisions had passed Congress last month but President Bush vetoed the bill over another issue. The bill would repeal DoD’s authority to revamp certain labor relations provisions, such as by restricting the allowable scope of bargaining, as well as its authority to impose new conditions on employee rights in the disciplinary process, such as by shortening the process and limiting MSPB’s power to overturn management’s choice of penalties.