| Comment Number: | EM-010821 |
| Received: | 3/7/2005 2:12:40 PM |
| Subject: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| Title: | National Security Personnel System |
| CFR Citation: | 5 CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
March 7, 2005 DoD NSPS Comments , DoD NSPS Comments: I write to express my extreme concern about the threats to National Security posed by changes to work rules in the Department of Defense (DoD). The proposed regulations, known as the National Security Personnel System (NSPS), were printed in the Federal Register on February 14, 2005. This message will be sent to both DoD and my representatives in Congress. I am angry that these proposals seem to treat the employees who help defend our country as the enemy. Why is that allowed? Most DoD employees work hard and are committed, AND THEY HAVE A DIFFICULT MISSION. Why aren't we concentrating our efforts on making things tougher for terrorists? I believe that mistreating the employees will hurt the agency?s mission AND NATIONAL SECURITY. I am very upset by NSPS. This system will change the way workers are paid, evaluated, promoted, fired, scheduled, and treated, and make it FAR WORSE. These rules would create a system in which federal managers are influenced by favoritism rather than serving the civil concerns of the American people. History has many examples of innovative persons who were squelched by incompetent supervisors- the French general who organized the taxicab transport of troops to the Marne, in WW I, was almost court-martialled. Billy Mitchell, whose ideas about dive bombing were used during WW II, was in fact court-martialled. The fact is, military success comes from innovators, the precise people who are persecuted by the chain of command. Reporting fraud, waste, and mismanagement in Defense will largely stop. The former head of procurement for the Pentagon, in the June, 1989 issue of Atlantic Monthly, noted that 1/3 of the Pentagon budget then was waste. Why do you want to guarantee that this waste will increase, unchecked, since no employee will dare report it? Whistleblower protection is non-existent, Civil Service protection was really their only protection- was- as it exists no more. Annual Pay Raises Under the General Schedule and FWS, employee pay was clear. It was funded by Congress and could not be taken away. However, NSPS will take away this certainty. Salaries and bonuses are funded by DoD. In the past ? as recently as just last year ? DoD did not fund its awards program. Given the agency?s miserable record on this issue, how can employees feel confident that our salaries and bonuses will be funded in the future? ?Friend of the Supervisor? Pay System With the new patronage pay system, which DoD calls ?pay for performance,? the amount of a worker's salary will depend almost completely on the personal judgment of his or her manager. This system will force workers to compete with one another for pay raises, which will destroy teamwork, increase conflict among employees, and reward short-term outcomes. There is no guarantee that even the best workers will receive a pay raise or that the pay offered will be fair or competitive. This system will create a situation in which workers are in conflict with one another and afraid to speak out about harassment, violations of the law, and workplace safety problems. Furthermore, there will be no impartial appeal system to assure that everyone is treated fairly. THIS IS WORSE THAN A JOKE- IT BEARS THE APPEARANCE OF USAMA BIN LADIN PERSONNEL SYSTEM. Schedules and Overtime NSPS will allow managers to schedule employees to work without sufficient advance notice of schedule changes. This will make it extremely difficult for working parents to care for their children and family. WHY IS A REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATION TRYING TO WEAKEN FAMILIES? It will also mean that abusive managers could harass employees with bad schedules or short notice. Overtime rotations can be canceled, which means that employees may not be able to plan adequately for childcare and other important responsibilities. IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME IN THE MILITARY NOW. Civilian Deployment Federal employees could be assigned anywhere in the world, even into a war zone, with little or no notice. Public employees are proud to serve our country, but they are also responsible for caring for their families and personal obligations. America is at war. We are fighting for democracy abroad. But these regulations are an attack on workers? basic rights AND ON NATIONAL SECURITY. IT WILL GUARANTEE THAT THE BRIGHTEST AND BEST WILL GO SOMEWHERE WHERE THEY WON'T BE PERSECUTED. Furthermore, NSPS will divert the attention of defense workers from the soldiers? welfare AND GETTING THEIR JOBS DONE to protecting themselves from abuse on the job. THEY WILL HAVE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES- AND SPEND UP TO 4 HOURS PER DAY DOING SO. I KNOW, ANY CAREER MILITARY PERSON IN A STAFF JOB HAS TO DO THIS NOW. I urge you to force DoD to rethink this proposal. We need work rules that preserve National Security, fairness, serve the American people, and respect the rights of Defense Department workers- who do an extremely important job. The lives you save by opposing this might include those of people in your own family. Sincerely,