Contracting Out Update
Monday, October 15, 2007(AFSCME Council 26)
Federal Unions and our allies on Capitol Hill have been working hard to level the playing field in public-private competitions. This is the status of these efforts to date:
HR 2829 The Financial
Services and General Government Appropriations
Act as passed in the House and reported by the
Senate Appropriations Committee prohibits
an executive agency (DOD and other
exceptions discussed below) A-76 public-private
competition from being won by a private
contractor on the basis of their providing
health or pension benefits of a
lower employer
contribution than those
the federal government provides for its
employees:
(House Version) SEC.
738.
(Senate Version) SEC.
739
(a) Requirement
for Public-Private
Competition-
(1) Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, none of the funds
appropriated by this or any other Act shall be
available to convert to contractor performance
an activity or function of an executive agency
that, on or after the date of enactment of this
Act, is performed by more than 10 Federal
employees unless--
...
(C) the contractor does
not receive an advantage for a proposal that
would reduce costs for the Federal Government
by--
(i) not making an
employer-sponsored health insurance plan
available to the workers who are to be employed
in the performance of that activity or function
under the contract;
(ii) offering to such
workers an employer-sponsored health benefits
plan that requires the employer to contribute
less towards the premium or subscription share
than the amount that is paid by the Federal
Government for health benefits for civilian
employees under chapter 89 of title 5, United
States Code; or
(iii) offering to such
workers a retirement benefit that in any year
costs less than the annual retirement cost
factor applicable to Federal employees under
chapter 84 of title 5,
These bills exclude the Department of Defense, some private TSA screeners, defense depot and services purchased under the blind and handicapped industry program.