DOD looks for A-76 exemption

The Pentagon is looking for an exemption to the Bush administration's outsourcing goals in its efforts to transform the Defense Department, said Pete Aldridge, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.

In a Dec. 26, 2001, memo to Sean O'Keefe, then deputy director at the Office of Management and Budget, Aldridge said that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is "committed to improving the efficiency of the department and ensuring resources are allocated to high-priority programs. To do this, we must have the freedom to manage limited resources in ways that best support our strategic objectives and evolving national security strategy."

OMB has been pushing agencies to open more programs to public/private competition in accordance with OMB Circular A-76. The Bush administration has been pushing these competitions as part of its government reform efforts. In its guidance last year, OMB directed agencies to compete 15 percent of the federal jobs considered commercially viable by the end of fiscal 2003. Under the Federal Activities and Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act, agencies must create a list of jobs that are not inherently governmental.

"Rather than pursuing narrowly defined A-76 targets, we propose to step back and not confine our approach to only A-76," Aldridge said.

"We look for the best instrument available — whether through competitive sourcing, re-engineering, divestiture, privatization, public/private competition, public/private partnership, diversification, etc. — to determine the most efficient and effective way to do government business better," he said.

Rumsfeld's Quadrennial Defense Review changed the Pentagon's defense strategy and placed particular emphasis on homeland defense, Aldridge said. Furthermore, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, DOD is expanding its focus on generating savings, not solely relying on manpower reductions.