Developments on NSPS Still Pending

By: fedweek

House and Senate leaders on defense issues have been working behind the scenes for the last several weeks on the annual DoD authorization bill that could affect a variety of personnel policies, and in particular the Pentagon’s national security personnel system. A formal conference is expected this week, but it’s unclear how long that stage of the process will last, and when a compromise measure will be ready for final floor voting. Both chambers have backed restrictions on NSPS, with the House’s version going farther. In addition, the House in a separate spending bill voted to cut off funds for NSPS entirely. That and other appropriations measures might ultimately be packaged into one big bill covering the rest of the current fiscal year. Meanwhile, an announcement is likely soon on whether federal unions will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court an appeals court’s decision rejecting many of their legal arguments against NSPS.