Rebalance for an Effective Defense Uniform and Civilian Employees Act (REDUCE Act)

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

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.