Political, Legal Challenges to New Outsourcing Rules The National Treasury Employees Union is asking a federal court to overturn some provisions of the revised OMB Circular A-76, which sets rules for competitive sourcing, as congressional opposition to the Bush administration’s sourcing push continues to spread. Both the House and Senate included a provision in the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that would prohibit contracting out air traffic control functions. The administration has threatened a presidential veto over the issue, even though it says it has no intention of converting air traffic controllers to the private sector. A House Appropriations subcommittee approved legislation that would block new job competitions in the Forest Service and most agencies of the Interior Department. The provision, inserted into the department’s 2004 appropriations bill, states, “None of the funds in this act can be used to initiate any new competitive sourcing studies.” Some members of Congress had raised objections to competitive sourcing plans in the National Park Service, a part of Interior. The Interior Appropriations Subcommittee’s jurisdiction also includes the Forest Service, which is part of the Department of Agriculture. On the legal front, the Treasury Employees Union charges OMB violated the Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act by narrowing the definition of “inherently governmental” jobs. An OMB spokesman said he is confident that the revised A-76 conforms to the law. The lawsuit says the FAIR Act defines a job as inherently governmental if it requires the exercise of “discretion,” while the revised Circular A-76 uses the term “substantial” discretion. The suit also asserts that jobs involving the collection, control or disbursement of federal funds usually have been classified as inherently governmental under the FAIR Act, but that the new circular adds an additional requirement: It says those jobs must also involve authority “to establish policies and procedures” if they are to be considered inherently governmental. The union says that could open up thousands of jobs at the Internal Revenue Service for outsourcing. NTEU President Colleen Kelley said OMB “has illegally trumped Congress” in the revised circular. The suit, filed June 19 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks the withdrawal of the revised A-76 provisions, a court declaration that any executive branch reliance on it is improper and illegal, and an order that the old Circular A-76 remain in effect. NTEU represents more than 150,000 employees in 29 agencies and departments.