2/26/09: NTEU national President Colleen Kelley yesterday applauded House approval of a fiscal 2009 omnibus appropriations measure that would take definitive steps to rein in runaway federal contracting.

The House-passed bill contains a one-year government-wide ban on new public-private job competitions for federal work under Office of Management and Budget contracting rules, and would require federal agencies to establish guidelines for bringing back into the hands of federal employees government work currently being performed by private contractors. “These provisions are the clearest sign yet that Congress recognizes the previous administration’s competitive sourcing initiative has been a disaster,” said Kelley.

Kelley, who has long been leading the fight against unwise and unnecessary contracting of federal work and has been pressing for the in-sourcing of contracted-out work, said the unfettered growth of contracting often has resulted in “higher costs, poorer service, increased opportunities for waste, fraud and abuse, and diminished government flexibility, control and accountability.”

In the $41 billion omnibus House bill, which provides funding for programs and agencies covered by the nine appropriations bills not yet enacted for this fiscal year, is additional NTEU-supported funding for several agencies, including an additional $11.5 billion for the IRS; $352 million for the Food and Drug Administration; $37 million for the Securities and Exchange Commission; and $100 million for the Social Security Administration.

The Senate is poised to take up omnibus legislation next week. A fiscal 2009 continuing resolution expires on March 6.