George Voinovich: “on June 6th, Senator DeWine and I introduced legislation to help the Department of Defense move ahead towards addressing…”

“on June 6th, Senator DeWine and I introduced legislation to help the Department of Defense move ahead towards addressing their future workforce needs. Our bill, the Department of Defense Civilian Workforce Realignment Act of 2000, gives the Department of Defense the necessary flexibility to adequately manage its civilian workforce and align its human capital to meet the demands of the post-cold war environment. The amendment that Senator DeWine and I are offering today adds the modified language of our bill to this DOD authorization bill so that the U.S. military can more adequately prepare for tomorrow's challenges. Mr. President, before I speak on the amendment itself, I would like to discuss the human capital crisis that is confronting the Federal Government. Since July of last year, the Oversight of Government Management Subcommittee, which I chair, has held six hearings on federal workforce issues. Some of the issues we have examined include management reform initiatives, Federal employee training needs and the effectiveness of employee incentive programs. One point that I have emphasized at each of these hearings is that the employees of the Federal Government should be treated as its most valued resource. In reality, Mr. President, Federal employees and human capital management have been long overlooked.”