Rep. Calvert Reintroduces the REDUCE Act

Press Release

Yesterday, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) reintroduced legislation aimed at creating a more efficient civilian workforce at the Department of Defense (DOD). The Rebalance for an Effective Defense Uniform and Civilian Employees (REDUCE) Act (H.R. 340) would require the DOD to make civilian workforce reductions in a systematic manner without compromising our ability to maintain a strong national defense over the long term.

"A critical component of our national security strategy is the proper allocation of scarce federal resources," said Rep. Calvert. "The continued growth in our civilian staff at the DOD comes at a time when we are reducing the number of active-duty military personnel -- something is clearly wrong with that equation. Simply put, if we fail to correct this trend our uniformed soldiers, not to mention American taxpayers, will suffer the consequences. The policies established by the REDUCE Act are not extreme measures, but rather they responsibly adjust the numbers of the civilian staff at the DOD over a number of years."

The Growth in the Civilian Workforce within the DOD:

From FY01 to FY14, the civilian staff has grown by 15% while total active military has declined by 4%.(Source: Defense Manpower Requirements Reports)

Since 2009, the size of the Office of the Secretary of Defense civilian workforce has grown to more than 2,000 people, or nearly 18%. (Source: Eaglen, Mackenzie. About That Boom! in the Pentagon's Civilian Workforce. Time Magazine. 20 Jun. 2013.)

The Joint Staff grew from 1,286 people in 2010 to 4,244 people in 2012, a 230 percent increase. (Source: Weisgerber, Marcus. Pentagon, Regional Staffs Growing Despite Orders to Trim Personnel. Defense News. 2 Jun. 2013.)

According to former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, each defense civilian reduction of 7,000 personnel saves at least $5 billion over five years. Using his numbers and calculating a 15% reduction from the current level of 770,000 civilian employees, H.R. 340 would save $82.5 billion over the first five years.

"I continue to believe that he savings generated from the REDUCE Act should stay within the Department and be redirected to fund Service priorities such as modernizing weapons systems, readiness, resetting the force and, most importantly, providing for our fighting men and women in uniform," said Rep. Calvert.

"Many of our civilians at the Pentagon and around the world do a fine job but their growth is unsustainable." continued Rep. Calvert. "Our current and retired military leaders have widely acknowledged the need to establish a more efficient defense workforce in order to preserve our national security posture in the future. However, actions speak louder than words and I continue to believe Congress will ultimately have to force DOD's hand to implement these necessary changes."

Source