Senator Collins Introduces National Security Personnel System Amendment

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill which Senator Voinovich and I have submitted. Our amendment would, among other things, provide for the creation of a National Security Personnel System encompassing the Defense Department's 735,000 civilian employees.

In April, the Department delivered to Congress a proposal to grant the Secretary of Defense authority to dramatically restructure the Department's civilian personnel system. The proposal was designed to provide the Department with the flexibility and agility it needs so it can respond to sudden changes in our security environment. To accomplish this objective, the Department's proposal would give Secretary Rumsfeld not only the personnel flexibilities Congress granted to the Secretary of Homeland Security, but also additional authority to unilaterally waive many personnel regulations.

Of primary importance to the Department of Defense were the following three personnel flexibilities: First, the authority to replace the current General Schedule, 12-grade pay system with a performance-based pay system in which workers would no longer be awarded an automatic, across-the-board pay increase; second, the authority to conduct on-the-spot hiring for hard-to-fill positions; and third, the authority to raise collective bargaining to the national level rather than negotiating with more than 1,000 local units.

Our proposal would grant the Secretary these authorities. It would provide the Secretary of Defense with the three pillars of his personnel proposal and thus would allow for a needed overhaul of an antiquated system. But we do not give the Secretary all he asked for; instead, we have attempted to strike the right balance between promoting a flexible system and protecting employee rights.

Over the past 3 weeks, Senator Voinovich and I have repeatedly reached out to a wide variety of interested parties in an attempt to put together a bipartisan proposal. As of today, I believe we have made a considerable amount of headway toward forging a consensus.

For example, in certain areas, such as employee appeals, I am not prepared to support granting the Secretary the authority to immediately do away with the Merit System Protection Board in order to create an internal appeals process. Instead, my amendment allows for a gradual transition from the MSPB to a new appeals process. During the transition, the Department will consult with MSPB while it develops and tests a new appeals process.

I am also not prepared to grant the Secretary the authority to waive the collective bargaining rights of employees. Instead, my amendment places statutory deadlines of 180 days on the amount of time any one issue can be under consideration by one of the three components of the Federal Labor Relations Authority. This alone should make a significant difference in the timeliness of the bargaining process, and prevent the occasional case from dragging on for years.

The bottom line is, we believe that our amendment would give the Secretary the authorities he needs to manage and sustain a civilian workforce some 735,000 strong. Our amendment would grant the administration's request for a new pay system, on-the-spot hiring authority, and collective bargaining at the national level, not individually with 1300 local union affiliates. In addition, our amendment would enable the Secretary to offer separation pay incentives for employees nearing retirement; to contract with individuals for services performed outside the United States in support of the Defense Department; to offer special pay rates for highly qualified experts like scientists, engineers and medical personnel; and to help mobilized Federal civilian employees whose military pay is less than their Federal civilian pay.

The House Armed Services Committee has already included a personnel amendment in their own authorization bill. For that reason, I was dismayed to learn that our amendment was not deemed "relevant" to the underlying legislation, and therefore shall not be made part of the Senate's bill.

But I have worked hard to find a consensus approach, and I don't intend to stop until this goal has been achieved. I believe that the House approach can be improved upon. This is why, on Friday, I plan to re-introduce this legislation as a free-standing bill and to hold a hearing on it the first week of June. Quite simply, I believe civil service personnel reform of this magnitude is too important an issue for the Senate to remain silent.

I urge my colleagues to work with Senator Voinovich and me as we continue our efforts on this very important issue. In addition, I would like to thank Senators WARNER and LEVIN for all the advice and input they have already provided. In addition to serving as ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, Senator Levin is a senior member of the Governmental Affair Committee, which I chair. As such, he brings expertise to the process from both perspectives. I hope that the bill I introduce on Friday will enjoy his support and that of the chairman.