[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 78 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E826-E827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HOWARD P. ``BUCK'' McKEON NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL 
                               YEAR 2015

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 21, 2014

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4435) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2015 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense and for military 
     construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for 
     such fiscal year, and for other purposes:

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, today I was proud to vote to approve H.R. 
4435, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 
2015. The NDAA is the key mechanism to provide necessary authorities 
and funding for America's military.
  Even in an era of constrained taxpayer resources, it is essential 
that we find ways to ensure our military has the funding necessary to 
carry out its mission. The FY15 NDAA provides a responsible fiscal 
balance and prioritizes the critical tools our troops need to maintain 
and perform as the finest fighting force in the world. The bill also 
provides our warfighters, and their families, with the support and care 
that we have promised them.
  One area that was minimally addressed was the size and growth of the 
civilian workforce at the Department of Defense (DoD). The NDAA tasks 
GAO to assess DoD's headquarter reduction efforts, building off its 
previous work conducted for the committee on examining growth in DOD 
headquarters. However, I believe Congress must go a step further in 
addressing the growth of the civilian workforce, especially as we draw 
down our uniformed personnel. It is important to note that:
  From FY01 to FY14, the civilian staff has grown by 15 percent while 
total active military has declined by 4 percent;
  The ratio of civilian workers to uniformed personnel is the highest 
in recent history despite the draw down in Iraq and Afghanistan;
  There are currently 718,000 civilian personnel versus 1.3 million 
active duty, a ratio that is out of balance.
  This imbalance is why I introduced the Rebalance for an Effective 
Defense Uniform and Civilian Employees Act (REDUCE Act, H.R. 4257). The 
REDUCE Act would require the Department of Defense to make necessary 
reductions in a systematic manner without compromising our ability to 
maintain a strong national defense over the long term.
  The REDUCE Act would:
  Reduce our defense civilian workforce by 15 percent by FY 2020. This 
percentage was recommended by the Defense Business Board, a trusted, 
authoritative, and independent source of expertise.
  The Department of Defense civilian workforce would remain at or below 
this established cap of a 15 percent reduction for Fiscal Years 2021 
through 2025.
  The Department of Defense civilian Senior Executive Service career 
appointee workforce will be reduced to 1,000 by 2020 and remain at or 
below 1,000 employees for Fiscal Years 2021 through 2025.
  Provide the Secretary of Defense the authority to use voluntary 
separation incentive

[[Page E827]]

payments and voluntary early retirement payments in order to achieve 
the required reductions in personnel.
  Provide the Secretary of Defense the authority to assign greater 
weight to the performance factor, rather than other factors such as 
tenure, in a Reduction in Force.
  There is no doubt that our DoD civilian workers play a vital role in 
numerous positions including logistics, acquisition, personnel 
management, and more. The mission of the civilian workforce at DoD is 
to support our uniformed personnel and their missions around the world. 
However, as we draw down our uniformed personnel, it makes no sense to 
not make commensurate reductions to the civilian workforce--a practice 
that has occurred in previous drawdowns.
  As Members of Congress, we should not let parochial interests prevent 
us from doing what is right for the country. Simply stated, it is 
inconceivable, defies logic and tramples the lessons of experience that 
a federal civilian job, once created, must live on forever. If our 
uniformed services are being reduced because the wars are ending, then 
a significant portion of the civilian jobs created to support those 
warfighters should be eliminated--not become contractor positions. 
Those jobs must be eliminated and done so at the legislative mandate of 
the Congress and at the executive discretion of the Secretary of 
Defense.
  In closing, I would like to mention that this was the last NDAA 
brought to the House floor by my good friend and the Chairman of the 
Armed Services Committee, Rep. Buck McKeon (CA-25). I want to thank 
Chairman McKeon for all of the hard work and dedication he has 
demonstrated on behalf of our troops and their families throughout his 
service here in the House.

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