Management

Lawmakers ask Clinton to release outsourcing lists

September 18, 2000

By George Cahlink

The Clinton administration and congressional supporters of outsourcing have sparred over the FAIR Act inventories ever since the law was passed. Last year, OMB released lists that found nearly half of all federal jobs are commercial, but found reasons for exempting many from public-private competition.

Several members of Congress have asked the Clinton administration why it has not yet released lists of thousands of commercial jobs that could potentially be outsourced.

The 1998 Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act requires agencies to annually review their workforces and submit lists of jobs that are commercial in nature to the Office of Management and Budget. In turn, OMB sends the lists to Congress and makes them public. The lists for fiscal 2000 were due to OMB by June 30.

On Friday, three of the FAIR Act's top supporters-Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas-sent a letter to OMB Director Jacob Lew asking for an update on the status of the lists.

"Thus far, Congress is not aware of any action on these inventories," the lawmakers wrote. "We are concerned by this delay."

The lawmakers asked Lew several questions, including:

Which agencies met the June 30 deadline?
Which did not?
Are any lists still not in?
When will OMB make the lists public?

Thomas and other lawmakers have charged agencies are shielding jobs from potential outsourcing and have called for congressional hearings into how agencies are implementing the FAIR Act.

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