WASHINGTON — The Bush administration announced plans Thursday to turn over as many as 850,000 federal jobs to private companies in an effort to improve service and cut costs.
The proposal could eliminate about half of the 1.7 million federal civilian workers by contracting out jobs ranging from lawn mowing to satellite tracking. Private companies could bid for the work under a process that may be outlined as early as Friday in the Federal Register, which gives public notice of all government actions.
The aggressive effort to pare down the federal work force is sure to inflame labor unions already upset by President Bush’s plan to waive civil service protections at his new department of homeland security.
The Washington area has the largest concentration of federal workers — about 360,000 — but the move’s effect would be felt nationwide.
Bush administration officials say they can impose the new bidding process without congressional approval after a 30-day review period.
“The Bush administration seems fairly antagonistic toward its federal employee work force. If they can’t bust their unions or take away their civil service protections, they’re going to privatize their jobs,” said John Threlkeld, a spokesman for the American Federation of Government Employees, a 600,000-member affiliate of the AFL-CIO.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan did not answer directly when asked if federal workers should fear for their jobs.
Advocates of contracting out government services predict savings of more than 30 percent when federal jobs are put out for competitive bids. Skeptics contend the government is ill equipped to monitor work by private contractors, who may skimp on quality.
The Office of Management and Budget has identified dozens of job categories that could be turned over to private contractors, including security in government buildings, aircraft and railway maintenance, geological surveys, legal services and the overhauling and testing of space systems.
© 2002, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.