Posted on 02/24/2010 2:53:40 PM PST by Former Military Chick
WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)—February 24, 2010. Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., and Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., Wednesday questioned the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security about the high ratio of contractors to civilian employees within the DHS workforce.
According to DHS estimates, the first the Committee has received despite years of informal requests for these numbers, the Department has 188,000 civilian employees (not including uniformed members of the Coast Guard) and 200,000 contractors working for it – for a total workforce of almost 400,000.
“To me, this is just a shocking and unacceptable number,” Lieberman said at a Committee hearing called to discuss the Departments proposed FY2011 budget. “Our Committee has long been concerned about DHS’s heavy reliance on contractors because it raises the question of efficient use of taxpayer money but also the question of who is in control of the Department’s mission: Is it federal contractors or fulltime employees?”
Lieberman said he appreciated that DHS has recently undertaken a review of the skewed balance of DHS workers. But he noted, “This is just the beginning of a turnaround that is necessary.” Lieberman and Collins have requested an agency by agency breakdown of the ratio of federal civilian employees and contractors.
Collins reiterated her proposal, offered with Lieberman, to transfer money budgeted for terrorist trials in New York City to the Coast Guard budget. “The President proposes to slash the Coast Guard’s funding by $75 million below last year’s budget and reduce the number of uniformed personnel by more than 1,100 positions,” she said. “Instead of wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on civilian trials in large American cities for the Guantanamo detainees, that $200 million would be better spent on the Coast Guard. “As we look forward, it is clear that the Coast Guard’s role in homeland security missions will only expand.”
Lieberman praised the proposed 2.67 percent increase in the Administration’s FY2011 DHS budget, which represents a reversal of FY2010 projections showing a steady decline in DHS funding over the next five years. The FY2011 budget now projects a small increase in DHS funding for the next five years, based in part on an increase of aviation security fees, which Lieberman said he would support “to benefit the budget of the Department of Homeland Security.”
Both Senators also questioned a proposed 5 percent cut for cyber security in the face of rampant hostile intrusions into private and public sector information systems and data theft. The Senators are working on comprehensive cyber security legislation that will, among other things, strengthen DHS’s ability to protect the nation’s computer networks.
DHS “must greatly expand its capacity to take on this threat,” Collins said. “Yet, the budget for the National Cyber Security Division would be reduced by $19 million next year, a reduction that flies in the face of the growing cyber threat. Our nation’s top intelligence officials recently testified that it is ‘certain’ that al Qaeda is planning another attack against the United States within the next six months. In the face of this testimony, we must ensure that the Department’s budget priorities are aligned to counter the threats we face from a determined enemy.”
Source: hsgac.senate.gov
Contractors are cheaper and generally produce. No mystery here.
I’d hate see how many people work for Dept of health and human services.
You’d better watch yourself in Obama’s america. That’s heresy!
Truth be known, contractors to a very large degree do the work for legions of federal employees. Bascially, the taxpayer is paying twice for the same job, and at hourly rates that you wouldn’t believe.
It can be cheaper but....a lot of contracts are let for dubious projects that produce nothing but paper. However, “managing the contract” justifies more jobs so feds love contracts.
Looks like he's gong to put my whole family out of work - but they are white, after all.
One son who's worked at the Kennedy Space Center for 30 years, is among the 7,000 to be laid off in Sept - because obyummer has directed NASA to divert the Space Program money to predominently Muslim countries - for ‘educating’ Muslim youths and bringing Muslim countries into the Space industry. This should have produced an instant freeze up every Americans spine! He's going to deep six our space program and fund the more Muslim countries to become Iran's!
My SIL just left the Navy after 10 years and is now a Coast Guard C-130 pilot - a new hire, closer to fire?
My youngest son, wife and the son at the Space center's wife all work jobs dependent on the Space center - all projected to lose their jobs - and the area to fall into 15% unemployment. (This is how he creates/saves jobs? Where is the press on this?)
My oldest son works for a private firm that processes Social security disability claims. If obyummer care goes through, the business will be done.
My 4th son is a long-hauler. Over a million truckers have lost their jobs/rigs since obyummers reign started - and they are just starting another layer of regulation deliberately calculated to put another 175,000 off the road - targeting independent OO’s...and small companies. Think on this a minute: If you get the rucking companies whittled down to a few big ones - (over 3,000 smaller and some big ones have gone belly up already) and then obyummer takes over the trucking industry - in the name of national security, of course) - who then controls the food supply? (Ages old tactic of despots: "Who controls the food, controls the people."
Well, that about covers it for putting my family out of work...loss of retirement that was worked decades for and all the rest.
My family is only one in millions - everyone of us will be forever adversely effected - don't even think about your young ones and what their life will be = if this regime isn't removed from office soon - their schemes blocked sooner We can't sit on our thumbs and wait for Nov. to stop these things - it will be too late. They ae moving at breakneck speed. Who says there will BE an election in Nov?
The contractors’ employees are generally (not always) better qualified and harder working than government workers. Their companies are paid much more on an hourly basis than civil servants for their services, but those companies, in turn, have to pay the benes for their employees who can be let go without fanfare vs. civil servants.
I’d rather have the split between govt workers and private contractor employees than having all govt workers.
“We need those slots!”
” Lieberman is a flaming liberal”..........with a torch
Yeah, good idea. I mean, really, who cares?
I’ll say. Anoreth’s cutter is older than I am, and that’s getting pretty darn old. And we sure need nuclear-powered icebreakers.
But it’s just the proposed budget. The CG has friends in Congress - hopefully this won’t happen.
Yes!
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