In a vote that could virtually guarantee that significant changes will be made in civilian personnel policies at the Defense Department, the largest employer of executive branch workers, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee has approved legislation (S-1166) that would grant DoD much of the new personnel flexibilities it has been seeking. The bipartisan nature of the vote, 10-1, contrasted with the partisan split on the issue in the House. During committee voting, several technical amendments were offered, including provisions to exempt from the new authorities DoD research labs-which already have even broader personnel flexibilities-and to grant new personnel authorities to NASA.