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Home Front: Politix

Hatch Introduces bill to reduce Federal employees to 2009 levels

2010-08-09

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced legislation today aimed at cutting the bloated federal government down to size. The Reduce and Cap the Federal Workforce Act would reduce and limit the number of civilian federal workers to February 2009 levels.
Expect this one to be pigeon-holed until several weeks after Doomsday.
"If we are to get our deficit under control, we need to rein in the runaway growth of our federal government," Hatch said. "Simply put, the federal government is growing at breakneck speed and it is time to apply the brakes before it bankrupts the nation and the taxpayers. My bill is a commonsense approach to putting a halt to big government."
Common sense being an uncommon commodity...
Hatch said the numbers show why his legislation is needed. From 1981 through 2008, the senator noted, civilian workers numbered between 1.1 million and 1.2 million. The Obama administration is forecasting the government's workforce this year will reach 2.15 million and serve 310 million Americans.
... which amounts to a lot of jobs for his supporters...
"That is almost a fifty percent increase since 2008," Hatch said. "In 1974, former President Gerald Ford said: 'A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.' Today, we have an administration that seems hell bent on doing just that. That is unacceptable."
Welcome to the Revolution...
The legislation would require the following:

Three months after enactment, the head of each government agency -- other than the CIA, FBI, Secret Service and Executive Office of President -- will report the number of civilian employees within that agency on Feb 16, 2009, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
If the number of employees is greater than existed on Feb 16, 2009, then each agency (except the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security) must, through attrition, reduce the number of employees to Feb. 16, 2009, levels.
Once the number of employees reaches Feb 16, 2009, levels, the head of each agency must ensure that those numbers remain the same. Thus, a hiring of a full time employee would require the reduction of another employee.
The OMB would publicly disclose the total number of federal employees, the number of federal employees in each agency, and the salary of each federal employee.
The Director of National Intelligence can exclude any employee from the above requirements if the director determines that such a disclosure would pose a threat to national security.

Hatch's bill legislation is supported by the American Conservative Union, Americans for Limited Government and Americans for Tax Reform.

Posted by:Delphi

#6 Don't reduce the number of employee. Eliminate programs wholesale and the jobs that go with them. Starting with the DoJ and CPB

Posted by: badanov 2010-08-09 17:08

#5 Here is a site.

Posted by: Deacon Blues 2010-08-09 16:46

#4 Can it be that we've hired a million new employees since January, 2009? Or did Bush hire some and Bambi hired even more?

A simple chart showing the number of employees over time would be helpful for me to pinpoint the problem, which is why I'm guessing that I'll never see a simple chart.

But hell yes, cut the number of employees back to 2009 levels. 2005 would be better. And don't exempt DoD and DHS.

Posted by: Steve White 2010-08-09 16:14

#3 "Welcome to the Revolution..."

From your lips to God's ears.

Posted by: Black Charlie Chinemble5313 2010-08-09 11:56

#2 Michelle Antoinette might have to cut back to 28 personal assistants? The horror

Posted by: Frank G on the road 2010-08-09 11:37

#1 Taking it back to 1909 would be better.

Posted by: BrerRabbit 2010-08-09 09:35

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