Numeric Goals Called Arbitrary

Federal employee organizations have opposed the setting of numeric goals for potential privatization from the outset of the administration, arguing that such goals are arbitrary and that they force agencies into converting work to the private sector without sufficient thought. A key senator on civil service matters, Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, agreed with that sentiment at the recent hearing. The administration’s recent budget proposal indicated that many agencies are struggling to meet that goal but emphasized that they will be expected to meet it and that their performance in that area will be taken into account in the White House’s ratings of agency management performance.