George E. Brown, Jr.: “I rise in support of H.R. 3345, the Federal Work Force Restructuring Act of 1993. I would like to take just a moment to…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 3345, the Federal Work Force Restructuring Act of 1993. I would like to take just a moment to describe the impact that H.R. 3345 will have on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]. H.R. 3345 would allow NASA to offer separation incentive payments to encourage eligible employees to retire or resign voluntarily from the agency. It would provide NASA with an alternative to involuntary separations due to reduction in force, reorganization, transfer of function, or other similar action. As such, H.R. 3345 is critically important legislation that will enable NASA to downsize its personnel base in a manner that does not adversely affect civil service employees. NASA's fiscal year 1994 appropriations was premised on a rapid reduction in the agency's civil service work force by some 1,000 employees, targeting a work force ceiling of 22,900 by the beginning of fiscal year 1995. However, the efficacy of H.R. 3345 to enable NASA to achieve necessary cost savings diminishes with each passing day.”