In-House Side Wins Most Competitions

A report from OMB says that the in-house side won 83 percent of the A-76 competitions over fiscal 2003-2005. The report, covering departments and large independent agencies, shows that 1,060 competitions were completed during that time involving 40,147 full-time equivalent federal employees—nearly half of them at the Defense Department, followed by Agriculture, HHS, Transportation and Treasury. Even when the in-house side wins, however, it often comes at the cost of jobs as the workforce reorganizes into a “most efficient organization.” OMB said the cost of conducting the competitions was $211 million but projected 10-year net savings of nearly $5.6 billion. Federal unions and other critics of contracting out argue that the savings are hard to quantify and often don’t materialize, assertions the administration rejects.