[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21471]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  H.R. 3029, THE REDUCING THE SIZE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THROUGH 
                         ATTRITION ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DARRELL E. ISSA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 20, 2011

  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, the Committee on Oversight 
and Government Reform filed a report to accompany H.R. 3029, the 
Reducing the Size of the Federal Government Through Attrition Act of 
2011. The purpose of the legislation is to reduce the size of the 
federal civilian workforce by ten percent through attrition. The bill 
also makes the federal government subject to a hiring freeze if the 
size of the workforce exceeds ninety percent of its size as of 
September 30, 2011. The legislation requires tough, but necessary, 
choices to control government spending.
  As discussed in the committee report, H.R. 3029 provides the 
President, acting through the Office of Management and Budget and in 
consultation with the Office of Personnel Management, broad flexibility 
to achieve the necessary reduction in the size of the federal civilian 
workforce and to prioritize staffing needs across the federal 
government. The Committee cites federal law enforcement as an 
occupational category that meets the requirements for an exemption from 
both the required workforce reduction and the hiring freeze.
  The Committee recognizes that the federal government's law 
enforcement responsibilities have expanded in the aftermath of the 
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The national security and 
homeland security challenges our nation faces are increasingly complex, 
and require a dedicated workforce of federal civilian employees. In 
exercising the waiver authority provided in the bill, the Committee 
believes the President should give every consideration to members of 
the federal law enforcement community whose duties include (1) the 
investigation, apprehension, or detention of individuals suspected or 
convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the United States; 
(2) the protection of officials of the United States against threats to 
personal safety; or (3) the protection of life and property, such as 
government institutions performing emergency work involving the safety 
of human life or the protection of property.
  The Committee will carefully monitor implementation of H.R. 3029 to 
ensure the federal government's law enforcement mission is 
appropriately protected.

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