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Washington, D.C.?The proposal by Texas Gov. George W. Bush to open the jobs of some 450,000 federal workers?a quarter of the federal workforce?to the private sector would only make worse "an already?costly set of circumstances," the head of the largest independent federal employees union said today.

President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) called the Bush proposal "misguided policy that is the source of ongoing political debate in the Congress." She said the more productive step for the nation is to ensure that front?line employees of federal agencies have the resources and training they need to do their jobs. "Given the opportunity, given the resources," Kelley said, "federal employees can do the work, and do it efficiently."

The NTEU president criticized the proposal by the likely Republican presidential nominee, who offered wholesale privatization as part of a set of proposals dealing with the effective functioning of the federal government none of which, Kelley said, emphasize the =

importance of adequate funding for federal agencies.

Kelley centered her attack on the proposal to contract out federal work. "No one yet understands the full extent of the cost, in terms of dollars spent, money wasted through fraud abuse, and reduced services to taxpayers, of the vast amount of contracting out to the private sector of governmental work we're already doing."

NTEU has called for "a complete accounting" of what has been described as "the shadow workforce" of contractors sharing in what is estimated to be at least $120 billion worth of work that federal agencies already send to the private sector.

"Unless and until we know exactly what we're paying and what we're getting for all that money," Kelley said, "any proposals of the type advanced by Governor Bush are both unwise and unnecessary."

The NTEU president also took issue with the Bush statement that efforts over the past eight years by the Clinton administration to produce a more responsive and efficient government have failed.

"Quite the contrary is true," said Kelley, noting that the federal civilian workforce is not only at its lowest level in nearly 30 years, but that "as federal workers have been asked to do more on behalf of the public?often with even more limited resources??they have responded successfully to this challenge time and again."

She pointed to the continuing efforts of the employees of the Internal Revenue Service to help spearhead the most far?reaching modernization of that agency in nearly 50 years. "Our people at the IRS have been in the forefront of the modernization effort from the first day," Kelley said.

"It is an effort that all Americans can and should take pride in," she said, calling the inclusion of employees in such key decisions "a much better idea than the cut?and?slash proposal offered by Governor Bush." NTEU represents some 155,000 employees in 24 agencies and departments, including more than 98,000 in the IRS.

The reason for the disturbing trend, President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) told a Senate Subcommittee, is that the federal compensation package ?including the critical elements of pay, retirement and health benefits?lags farther and farther behind the private sector.

"Federal employees, just like their private sector counterparts, must believe that substantial rewards exist for excellence and productivity," Kelley told the Subcommittee on Government Management of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs.

Without appropriate compensation and incentives, she said, the federal government "will find it increasingly difficult to remain competitive" with private employers.

The NTEU president cited studies, including one by the government's General Accounting Office (GAO) going back to 1994, and more recent analyses by Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and the George Washington University public administration department, showing lagging interest in employment with the federal government.

The single most important and pressing step, she said, would be "a decision to fully implement" the 1994 Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA), which called for the closing, in stages over 10 years, of the public?private pay gap. "That would do more to address recruitment and retention in the federal government than all remaining incentive programs combined," she said.

Since its enactment, however, no annual federal pay raise has been even close to the level called for under the FEPCA formula, and the pay gap continues to be sizeable, she said.

Beyond implementing FEPCA, Kelley said, Congress needs to "provide adequate discretionary funding" to agencies to allow them to implement various programs in existing law, including recruitment, retention and relocation bonuses and awards programs recognizing various aspects of excellence in performance.

"Agencies simply do not have the resources to adequately fund these important incentives," she said. "They are constantly forced to rob Peter to pay Paul."

The union leader urged more federal sector use of "family?friendly programs" such as alternative work schedules, telecommuting options, flexiplace, leave banks, child care subsidies and the chance to use personal sick leave to care for ill family members.

"These benefits provide a sense of community both inside and outside the office," she said, emphasizing the positive impact on agency performance of reduced absenteeism, increased morale and motivation and higher rates of employee retention.

NTEU represents some 155,000 employees in 24 agencies and departments, and has long been the leader in the fight for higher pay and a broader range of benefits for federal employees.