Agencies would have to tell Congress how much they are paying
outside consultants to help run public-private job competitions
under legislation approved by the House Appropriations Committee
Thursday.
The committee adopted an
amendment from Rep. James Moran, D-Va., to the Transportation,
Treasury, and Independent Agencies appropriations bill that would
require agencies to file yearly reports on the size and cost of
their competitive sourcing programs.
"I just want to make sure that the Congress, and particularly
appropriators, have a handle on the extent to which we are
outsourcing and [know] what the cost is," said Moran.
Agencies would have to include in the reports the amount spent
on consultant support, as well as the costs of using agency
personnel to conduct job competitions. They would also have to
detail how many employees had been subjected to competition, and
include estimates for any savings generated by competitions.
Most agencies do not track the cost of using their own
personnel to help stage competitive sourcing studies.
A federal employee union applauded the committee's action.
“Thanks to Rep. Moran, the House Appropriations Committee has
taken an impressive first step towards holding [the Office of
Management and Budget] accountable for the costs to taxpayers of
its privatization quota,” said John Threlkeld, a lobbyist with the
American Federation of Government Employees.
