Frank Lautenberg: “I rise to support the Mikulski- Landrieu amendment. This is a very important amendment. It overturns the newly revised…”

“I rise to support the Mikulski- Landrieu amendment. This is a very important amendment. It overturns the newly revised guidelines--known as OMB A-76--for the ``competitive outsourcing'' of government jobs. This A-76 process the administration has proposed isn't about saving money or promoting efficiency. It implements a rabid anti-government ideology by stacking the deck against Federal employees; there's nothing fair about it. As a member of the Governmental Affairs Committee, which has had hearings on this issue, I have had an opportunity to hear OMB officials try to justify the new rules. To put it bluntly, they haven't succeeded. This administration's desire to privatize vast swaths of the Federal workforce needs a lot more scrutiny from Congress. Ultimately, the outsourcing of jobs is about people--the people who work for our Government and the people who pay taxes. Civil servants are the backbone of our government and we should remember that the skills, talent, and professionalism of the men and women in the Federal workplace are the best in the world. The overwhelming majority of civil servants are dedicated to their jobs. Many of them could make more money in the private sector but they work in the government because they see public service as a higher calling. Many of us here in Congress strongly disagree with the administration's privatization agenda.”