FederalDaily.com > Contractors Vastly Outnumber Civilian Feds

FederalDaily - October 18, 2006

Contractors Vastly Outnumber Civilian Feds

The number of federally contracted employees has been growing at a rapid pace and today outnumbers the federal civilian workforce by a four-to-one ratio, said the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). There are about 7.6 million workers under contract to the federal government, compared to 1.8 million civilians in the federal workforce, the union said Oct. 16. The burgeoning number of federal contractors raises serious concerns about accountability and value for U.S. taxpayers, said NTEU President Colleen Kelley. Citing a new report by New York University professor Paul C. Light, the union said the Bush administration’s continuing efforts to contract work to the private sector has added some 2.5 million contractor employees just in the period between 2002 and 2005, meaning the growth in contract workers in that period alone exceeds the current total number of federal workers. What’s more, the expansion reflects a nearly $50 billion increase in federal contract spending in a single year—from 2004 to 2005. “Runaway federal contracting is a shell game, masking the true costs of government to America’s taxpayers and handing the important work of the government to a less accountable workforce,” warned Kelley. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org

Military Families, Civilians Unprepared for Attacks, Disasters

Five years after 9/11 and a year after Hurricane Katrina, it looks like American citizens—including military families—are still unprepared for a terrorist attack or natural disaster. According to a new survey released Oct. 16 by the American College of Emergency Physicians meeting in New Orleans, only half of surveyed families had prepared any kind of disaster plan and only one-third possessed a disaster kit. The survey results show no significant differences among military, retired military and civilian families in regard to having a disaster plan or kit. The scientific sampling surveyed people in San Antonio, Texas, including patients in two military hospital emergency departments. The study’s authors said information on family readiness and recommendations for creating a household disaster kit are readily available, but an overall lack of personal preparedness is evident. “After all the attention focused on disaster preparedness since 9/11, it is surprising to find families lacking plans or supplies for a terrorist attack or natural disaster,” said Dr. Richard Dagrosa, an Air Force captain. To see more, go to: www.acep.org/webportal/Newsroom/NR/general/2006/101606d.htm?SetText=big

Airline Files Suit Against FAA in Crash

Regional airline Comair is suing the federal government and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport over the August crash of Comair Flight 5191, which left 49 people dead. The airline filed suit Oct. 13 in U.S. District Court in Lexington, Ky., asking a judge to order both the federal government and the airport to contribute to the cost of any settlements or judgments against it. In a written statement, Comair said it intends to reach fair settlements with the families of those killed, but wanted to make sure other responsible parties contribute in paying off the liabilities. The Federal Aviation Administration has acknowledged it violated its own policies by having only one controller assigned to the airport the morning of the crash. The crash is still under investigation, but in the lawsuit, Comair claims the lone traffic controller on duty turned away from the runway before Comair Flight 5191 took off. The pilots took off from the wrong runway—too short for the regional jet—and crashed in a field about a mile away. To see the Comair press release, go to:
www.comair.com/news/index.html?id=322