AFGE Applauds White House Efforts to Stop Contracting Out Government Functions

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, President Obama announced significant reforms in how the government does business by changing contracting methods and standards, including a call for federal employee performance of inherently governmental functions. The American Federation of Government Employees has long insisted that inherently governmental work, and closely related work of a recurring nature, should always be performed by reliable and experienced federal employees who put the public interest first.

"For too long, American taxpayers have had to foot the bill for unnecessary, and costly projects that have served only to line the pockets of contractors," said AFGE National President John Gage. "It is clear that President Obama is taking seriously his commitment to a better, stronger government by ensuring that federal programs are not driven by private interests."

"This administration intends to stop contracting out government services that should be performed by federal employees," continued Gage. "We hope this is the end of the era of privatization during which agencies were forced to contract out regardless of cost or quality, and at the expense of integrity and accountability of federal programs."

President Obama's direction builds on Section 736 of Division D of the FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill that requires all agencies to establish plans to insource new and outsourced work, particularly inherently governmental work wrongly contracted out, work contracted out without competition, and work contracted out that is poorly performed.

"From our VA hospitals where former President Bush's privatization agenda has undermined the care that our veterans receive, to the Social Security Administration where contracting out has jeopardized Americans' privacy, AFGE embraces President Obama's measures to reform how the government does business," concluded Gage. "AFGE and its dedicated members stand ready to help make the government run smoothly and efficiently."

2010 Budget Rings in New Era for Federal Government

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Federation of Government Employees today applauded the Obama Administration's 2010 fiscal budget and stands ready to increase services provided to the American public. "We are delighted to finally have the resources to run our agencies," said AFGE National President John Gage. "This budget is a welcome departure from the 'starve the beast' policies of the last eight years that sought to deprive government agencies and programs of the resources they needed to carry out their missions on behalf of the American people."

While the last eight years saw budgets that catered only to the interests of the wealthy and politically-connected contractors, this budget places the highest priorities on veterans; the elderly and the disabled who rely on Social Security; education; the safety of communities where federal prisons are located; science-based projects to protect the environment; housing assistance; and everyone who buys health insurance and uses health care, to name only a few.

"Although federal employees would prefer to have seen an increase in pay, the equivalent to the military, we recognize the severity of our nation's economic situation, including the crisis for public workers at the state and local level, and understand that only modest steps can be taken this year to close the remaining pay gap between the federal and non-federal salaries," continued Gage. "We also are pleased to see an emphasis on controlling health care costs in the years to come."

"Federal employees are genuinely committed to providing their fellow Americans with the highest quality services and protections. From the Department of Homeland Security's Border Patrol agents' efforts to protect the border to the Department of Labor's OSHA inspectors to the VA nurses and doctors - federal employees are so pleased to see that President Obama recognizes that understaffing is dangerous and self-defeating. They are thrilled at the prospect of additional resources for hiring staff who will be dedicated to serving the public interest," Gage said.

The 2010 budget goes even further, recognizing the harm done by Bush administration's privatization agenda. "Their ideological bias forced agencies to contract out regardless of cost or quality, and at the expense of the integrity of federal programs as well as public accountability. It looks like that may be coming to an end," said Gage.

"AFGE looks forward to this renewed opportunity to serve the American public," concluded Gage. "And we look forward to continuing our work with the Obama administration toward our shared goal of better government."