Lawmakers Propose Workforce Cuts

Another bill introduced in Congress on Thursday looks to reduce the size of the federal workforce through attrition over the next few years.

The bill (H.R. 3029 and S. 1611), introduced by Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., would reduce the size of the federal workforce by 10 percent by 2015. The reduction would not come from layoffs, but rather attrition, mostly from the large number of retirements projected over the coming years. The bill proposes hiring one federal employee to replace every three who retire or leave their job.

Some exceptions would be made for certain national security or public health concerns under the legislation. The legislation also proposes limits on service contracts to supplement the reduced workforce "except in cases in which a cost comparison demonstrates that such contracts would be to the financial advantage of the government."

The bill's sponsors estimate that the legislation would save $139 billion over the next 10 years.

"We cannot continue to substitute job creation with government-funded employment," Mulvaney said. "This legislation -- a proposal supported by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles Commission and selected by the American people as part of the YouCut program -- will boost private sector employment by slowing the explosive growth of the public sector."

Mulvaney and Johnson contend that the federal workforce has grown by nearly 15 percent, or 300,000 workers, over the last five years. But a recent analysis by the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association showed that the size of the federal workforce has actually decreased by more than 200,000 employees since 1990, all while new demands in areas like homeland security and technology have increased.

The new bill is similar to one introduced in June -- the Reducing the Size of the Federal Government Through Attrition Act (H.R. 2114), by Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif, Dennis Ross, R-Fla., and Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. That bill would allow the government to hire only one new employee for every three who leave until a 10 percent overall reduction in the federal workforce is met.