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Washington, D.C.—Bipartisan language accepted today by a key House subcommittee will go a long way toward providing a level play field for federal workers faced with the loss of their jobs to private contractors, the head of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said.

NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley applauded Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Frank Wolf (R-VA) for their leadership in securing Treasury-Transportation subcommittee acceptance of language that would prevent contracting out any federal activity or function performed by more than 10 federal employees without holding a public-private competition for the work.

The Hoyer-Wolf language also provides that contractors would have to show a minimum cost savings of $10 million or at least 10 percent of in-house personnel costs. This requirement would help offset the agency’s costs of conducting a job competition and turning the work over to a winning private sector bidder.

Rep. Hoyer said the language accepted by the subcommittee “will correct two serious deficiencies in the most recent revisions” of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76, which sets out the rules for federal contracting. OMB’s revisions to the circular some 14 months ago provided contractors with significant advantages in getting the work of federal employees.

“This very positive development will serve federal agencies well,” President Kelley said, “in part by ensuring that most of the federal jobs considered for contracting be subject to a public-private competition in which those who know best how to perform the tasks—dedicated, front-line federal employees—have the opportunity to compete for the work.”

Along with making contractors more accountable to the government and the public, “making sure there is a level playing field” is a key step that is presently missing from government contracting out processes, the NTEU leader said.

NTEU has long been leading the fight against the wholesale contracting out of federal work. The administration has said it wants to contract to the private sector as many as one out of every two federal jobs.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 30 agencies and departments.