Job Competitions Suspended at VA Medical Facilities The Department of Veterans Affairs has suspended competitive sourcing studies on tens of thousands of support jobs in its medical facilities, one of the largest competitions in government. VA officials said the department’s general counsel determined that the competitions were prohibited by law unless Congress provides specific funding for that purpose. The legal provision applies only to VA’s Veterans Health Administration, its largest unit, with 190,000 employees. Department officials said they will ask Congress to repeal the prohibition. VA had planned competitions involving 28,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2004. Most of them are in hospitals and clinics, including food service, laundry and maintenance. The department is prohibited from contracting out for doctors, nurses and others directly involved with patient care. The Bush administration’s competitive sourcing effort came under legal attack from another union representing federal employees. The American Federation of Government Employees filed suit in a federal court in Pennsylvania July 2, charging that the revised OMB Circular A-76 illegally narrows the definition of jobs that can be classified as “inherently governmental,” and exempt from outsourcing. AFGE charged the administration is “attempting to convince/coerce/force executive agencies to use the illegally delimited definition of ‘inherently governmental’” in classifying jobs under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act. The National Treasury Employees Union earlier filed a similar lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington. (SAA, 6/27) OMB officials have insisted that the revised A-76 complies with the law. The revised circular defines a job as inherently governmental if it involves the exercise of “substantial” discretion. The FAIR Act only specifies the exercise of discretion. The unions argue that the new definition unlawfully narrows the definition, opening more jobs to public-private competition. But Angela Styles, administrator of OMB’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy, said the new definition does not change anything, because the word “substantial” has appeared in OMB’s policy guidance since 1992. She testified June 26 before the House Government Reform Committee. Styles said no more than four or five agencies will reach the administration’s goal of putting 15% of their commercial jobs up for competition by the time the current fiscal year ends Sept. 30. The Defense Department will meet the goal, said Philip Grone, principal assistant deputy undersecretary for installations and environment. The Interior Department expects to get to 15% by July 2004, said Scott Cameron, deputy assistant secretary for performance and management. But Interior’s competitive sourcing plans have run into congressional opposition. The House Appropriations Committee approved a provision in a 2004 appropriation bill that would block any new competitions in Interior and in the Agriculture Department’s Forest Service. The Forest Service has drawn up preliminary plans to compete the jobs of 2,000 accountants and financial managers and up to 10,000 firefighters and other fire program employees over the next two years, GovExec.com reported.