Ken Calvert

Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) reintroduced legislation aimed at creating a more efficient civilian workforce at the Department of Defense (DOD).  The Rebalance for an Effective Defense Uniform and Civilian Employees (REDUCE) Act (H.R. 295) would require the DOD to make civilian workforce reductions in a systematic manner without compromising our ability to maintain a strong national defense over the long term.

“The out of control growth in the Defense Department bureaucracy must be stopped,” said Rep. Calvert. “The leadership at the Pentagon may want to continue burying their collective heads in the sand, but Congress should act now and require the necessary cuts to the civilian workforce at the Defense Department. A recent report estimated the government could save around $125 billion by eliminating the unnecessary bureaucratic waste at the Pentagon. Taxpayers as well as our servicemembers deserve to have these funds spent in a much wiser fashion.”

The Growth in the Civilian Workforce within the DOD:

A report produced by the Defense Business Board found that modest cuts to the back end bureaucracy at the Defense Department could save $125 billion over five years. Significant savings could be achieved through attrition and early retirements. According to an investigative report by the Washington Post, senior leadership at the Defense Department tried to keep the Defense Business Board’s report from public view.

The requirements of the REDUCE Act will accomplish the following:

·         Reduce our Defense civilian workforce by 15% 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% 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 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 job performance versus tenure in a Reduction in Force then the Secretary currently has.

·         Require a two-fold reporting requirement for this Act: (1) a report from the Secretary of Defense covering the progress and impact of the requirements of this Act in the annual budget request for Fiscal Years 2017 through 2025. The Secretary of Defense may also report to Congress on the impact of the provisions at any time throughout the year (such as when submitting the report on achievement of performance goals as required by Sec. 116 of title 31 of the United States Code on “Agency performance rating.”), (2) a GAO study, no later than 3 years after enactment of this Act, that shall examine the progress and impact of the requirements of this Act. 

In the development of the REDUCE Act, Rep. Calvert and his office consulted with respected defense officials and experts, including: Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon R. England, Former Under Secretary of Defense Dr. Dov Zakheim, Former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, and Major General (Ret.) Arnold Punaro (Member of the Defense Business Board).

The following House members have signed on as original cosponsors of the REDUCE Act:

·         Rep. Rick Crawford (AR-1)

·         Rep. Kay Granger (TX-12)

·         Rep. Duncan Hunter (CA-52)

·         Rep. Steve Knight (CA-25)

·         Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA-1)

·         Rep. Devin Nunes (CA-22)

·         Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (CA-48)

·         Rep. Todd Rokita (IN-4)