DoD Personnel Policies in Flux

Meanwhile, heavy lobbying continues on the DoD authorization bill, with the administration pushing for the House version (HR-1588) that largely gives the Pentagon what it wants on personnel policies, including authority for pay banding and pay for performance and streamlined hiring and disciplinary procedures. A recent DoD briefing package on the issue says that the House version “has language we can live with.” However, employee organizations are advocating a bill that came out of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee (S-1166), which has bipartisan support and is not as wide-ranging-it contains greater protections for unions and for employees in disciplinary actions and requires that any changes be phased in over three years. That final provision might not prove to be a sticking point, since the DoD briefing paper anticipates that it would take two years to carry out the changes the Pentagon envisions in any event. The hangup on the DoD bill mainly involves other issues, including possible restrictions on the planned round of base closings in 2005.