| Comment Number: | OL-10509965 |
| Received: | 3/15/2005 10:07:29 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:
Executive Order 13132, Federalism On the first page of the proposed rule, there is a quote from President Bush: “a future force that is defined less by size and more by mobility … one that is easier to deploy….” One of the key performance parameters of NSPS, as stated on page 7555, is an “Agile and Responsive” workforce that can be easily sized, shaped and deployed to meet changing mission requirements. However, the proposed rule states that, “The proposed regulations would not have financial or other effects on States….” If the Department of Defense (DoD) moves employees from one state to another to “shape” the workforce, clearly there will be an impact on the states involved. Many believe that the so-called “red states” (those that went Republican in the last presidential election) will gain DoD workers, at the expense of the “blue states” (that voted for the Democratic candidate). Politics aside, this would certainly be one way to become more cost-effective, as the cost of living and wages are typically lower in the red states. It’s hard to believe that there will be no financial impact on states as a result of the broad powers granted to the Secretary of Defense under NSPS.