![]() and I think we ought to go out with an open mind.” “I don’t think we’ve really looked at some of these contracts as closely as we should. “I understand the growth in contracts, and that’s a problem too,” Calvert said. In my view, the existing Department of Defense civilian workforce is mission critical to ensuring our national security.”Ĭalvert said he is open to cutting contracting costs, in partnership with McCollum. While we agree there is excess defense spending, my focus is on making smart investments that yield demonstrable outcomes by cutting waste and ending subsidies for outdated and unnecessary programs and facilities. His proposal could lead to some of the most talented and committed DoD public servants losing their jobs. “Ranking Member Calvert and I have discussed his proposal to reduce defense spending by cutting the civilian employee workforce. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., also worried over the impact on talent retention at the agency: ![]() “For any given level of military end strength, the amount of force structure available for operational warfighting requirements it reduced to the extent that military are siphoned off to perform functions that civilians can and should perform at less cost,” the letter states.Īn AFGE spokesperson also noted that sections of fiscal year 2021 funding legislation and defense authorization, “prohibit reductions of the civilian workforce without regard to impacts on readiness, lethality, military force structure, stress of the force, operational effectiveness and fully burdened costs.”Ĭalvert’s counterpart on the House Defense Appropriation Subcommittee, Rep. The American Federation of Government Employees said in a February 2019 letter opposing an earlier version of the bill that the civilian job reduction objectives not only ignored the cost of contractors when compared with DoD employees, but also ignored several more recent government and industry analyses that emphasized the importance of the current civilian workforce in accomplishing military objectives. This force shaping measure would allow the secretary of defense the discretion to implement many of the measures included in the report, as well as weight performance more heavily to ensure we keep the best and brightest of our civilian workforce.” “The legislation seeks to give the secretary of defense the mandate and the tools necessary to implement cost saving measures without being overly prescriptive,” a spokesperson for Calvert told Federal Times, adding that it, “if made permanent, would affect the contracts and IT support needed within the department required to meet the full $125 billion. The spokesman reiterated that the Diaoyu Islands and its surrounding islets are an inherent part of China's terr itory, and the country's determination and volition to safeguard its sovereignty over the islands are "unwavering."Ĭhina's Ministry of National Defense on Saturday issued an announcement to establish an Air Defense Identification Zone over the East China Sea.The Washington Post article notes that the Army, for example employed approximately 199,661 full-time contractors at an average cost of $189,188 per contractor at the time of the report.Īt that same time period, the Army employed 253,225 civilian federal personnel, nearly 83 percent of whom made less than $100,000 per year, according to Office of Personnel Management employment data.Īdding on the $36,795 in benefit costs per federal employee - as determined by Cato Institute Director of Tax Policy Studies Chris Edwards using 2015 Bureau of Economic Analysis data - only around 2 percent of civilian Army employees cost the agency as much as the average contractor. Qin said the remarks by the Japanese side are "irresponsible" and "groundless and utterly wrong." TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that Japan is seriously concerned over the air defense identification zone China announced to set up in the East China Sea on Saturday.Ībe made the remark at a session of a Diet committee, following the words made by Japan's Foreign Ministry on Sunday that Japan can not accept the fact that the zone covers the Diaoyu Islands.Ĭhina's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Sunday that China "firmly opposes" Japan's remarks on the Diaoyu Islands included in the identification zone, adding China's move conform to the Charter of the United Nations and international laws and practices and are thoroughly legitimate.
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