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Washington, D.C. — The leader of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) today called on the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee to prohibit the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from spending any money in fiscal 2008 to implement regressive personnel rules that would severely impact employees’ rights.

That step would be in line with action earlier this week by the House Homeland Security Committee, in its markup of the fiscal 2008 DHS authorization bill, in adopting an amendment which would repeal the performance management flexibilities provided to DHS in the 2002 legislation creating that department. The language was introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.), who acknowledged NTEU's role in getting the language drafted and approved. NTEU has been the aggressive leader in the successful fight to curtail spending on the DHS personnel system.

In testimony submitted to the Appropriations Subcommittee, NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley said congressional action is needed because “despite Congress’ clear intent to stop implementation of the failed DHS human resources management system, (the agency) continues to persist in implementing these compromised personnel regulations.”

NTEU has prevented implementation of the labor relations segment of those rules, three times winning federal district and appeals court injunctions to prevent DHS from moving ahead. However, the agency has said recently it intends to implement segments of the rules impacting adverse actions, appeals and performance management.

President Kelley called the DHS proposal to move forward with this system sheer folly.

“It should be clear to the Committee that DHS has learned little from (its) court losses,” Kelley said—and from the dismal results of survey of federal employees. A month ago, DHS was shown to have received the lowest scores of any federal agency on a survey examining job satisfaction, leadership and workplace performance.

Of the 36 agencies surveyed, the NTEU leader said, DHS ranked 36th in job satisfaction, 35th in leadership and knowledge management, 36th on results-oriented performance culture, and 33rd on talent management.

“With the abysmal morale and extensive recruitment and retention challenges at DHS,” she said in her testimony, “implementing these personnel changes now will only further undermine the agency’s employees and mission.”

She added: “It is time to end this flawed personnel experiment.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments, including 15,000 in DHS’s Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and Transportation Security Administration.