Could Be Catalyst for Accountable Government Work Force

(Washington, D.C.) – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today announced its support for the new personnel system developed at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  The new system will limit bargaining power of the unions, make it easier for supervisors to discipline employees who perform poorly, and will dismantle the General Schedule pay system which standardizes pay in an effort for equality.

“These changes are a welcome sign to taxpayers concerned about where their money is being spent,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz.  “However, the changes should not stop at DHS, but rather implemented in all federal agencies across the board.”

With the federal budget deficit at the unprecedented level of $427 billion and with the constant threat from international terrorists, the ability to weed out incompetence is of utmost importance to every American. 

“The national security implications are vast.  In the event of another terrorist attack, quick decisions about how to respond need to be made by individuals rather than union bosses,” continued Schatz.

In his State of the Union Address, President Bush declared that, “A taxpayer dollar must be spent wisely, or not at all.”  To put force behind this statement, the 2005 budget proposal sought to eliminate 65 federal programs.  Several of these programs were viewed as underperforming by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).  Clearly, there is an impulse within the executive branch to do away with wasteful spending.  CAGW fully supports any effort by the government to do away with unnecessary spending to save taxpayer dollars from do-nothing bureaucrats.

“There was a time when government workers could be referred to as civil servants,” Schatz concluded.  “Today, these bureaucrats and union officials serve no one but their own interests.

CAGW’S publication Prime Cuts 2004 catalogues 592 recommendations throughout the federal government that if enacted, could save taxpayers $217 billion in fiscal 2005 and $1.65 trillion over the next five years.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.