Tom Harkin: “I rise today to support my friends from Maryland and Louisiana, who have offered an important amendment to get rid of…”

“I rise today to support my friends from Maryland and Louisiana, who have offered an important amendment to get rid of unfair rules that disadvantage Federal Workers. I want to talk about one group of Federal Workers in particular--those with mental disabilities who are at risk of losing their jobs if these outsourcing rules are allowed to stand. I joined both of my colleagues from Maryland in sending a letter to Mr. Bolten, the Director of OMB, and to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, expressing our outrage about workers at one workplace in Maryland, and urging them to adopt a government-wide policy protecting these workers and others like them from losing their jobs. Senator Mikulski has spoken about employees with mental disabilities working at the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, mentioned in a Washington Post article earlier this month. These 22 workers in the hospital kitchen are providing dependable and reliable service in very hard-to-fill positions. In return, the Navy provided them with a steady paycheck and the ability to lead independent, productive lives. This relationship is mutually beneficial, but it is being jeopardized by outsourcing. And these workers could lose much more than their jobs. They could lose their independence. That is what is at stake for these workers.”