Separately, an appeal of another judge’s ruling blocking many similar planned
changes at the Department of Homeland Security remains pending before the
federal appeals court in the District of Columbia. The court has set April 8
to hear oral arguments, but there is no fixed timetable for a decision in that
case, either. In its fiscal 2007 budget request, meanwhile, DHS asked for $41.8
to continue implementation of the Human Resources System Initiative, what DHS
calls MaxHR. “The new system is market and performance-based and rewards
employees for their contributions to the mission of the department, and not
simply for longevity,” the department said. However, last year Congress cut
the requested funding for the program in light of the continuing controversies
surrounding it, and a similar effort might be made this year.
