Freezing Federal Hiring?

Freezing the 2010 pay raise for civilian federal workers is not the only target of several lawmakers in Congress. A bill unveiled in the House late last month would stop agencies from hiring during any year the Office of Management and Budget projects a budget deficit for the federal government.

The Federal Workforce Reduction Act (H.R. 5348), introduced by Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., would place an immediate freeze on non-national security hires. The bill also would require that agencies hire only two replacements for every four federal workers who retire, and agencies would have to compete with each other for the limited amount of hiring slots.

The bill also would establish a new competitive process under which all agencies must apply for and justify new hires and would be required to report to the public and Congress on all new hires.

"This unprecedented government growth is not the answer to getting the country's economy going again," Lummis said in a statement. "Big government, with its long arm, taxes and overreaching mandates, gets in the way of our small businesses and entrepreneurs."

The Partnership for Public Service has estimated that the federal government will need to hire nearly 273,000 new workers for mission-critical jobs by 2012, in part to replace retiring baby boomers and those leaving federal service for other reasons. Approximately 11,549 of those positions will be in information technology, the Partnership estimates.

But is freezing all non-national security hiring the answer, particularly as agencies already are plagued by a sluggish federal hiring process and increased competition for mission-critical talent?