Government Employees — 5

Legislation passed in 2002 directs the Secretary of Defense to prepare a list of bases that are to be realigned or closed by May 2005. The list must then be submitted to a Base Closure and Realignment Commission for review. The Commission will decide which bases will stay on or be removed from the list. A simple majority of the Commission determines the fate of a base. They in turn must submit their findings to the President by September 2005. If the President accepts the findings of the Commission, the closures become law in 45 days. The only way to stop the closings is for Congress to intervene, something they refused to do in the other four rounds of closures.

According to early reports, Secretary Rumsfeld is considering closing 100 or more of the 425 military installations. That represents more than the other four closings combined. While Congress did not intervene in past rounds of closings, the numbers that Rumsfeld is talking about may generate a firestorm on Capitol Hill.

Civil Service Transformation

In the days following the tragedy of September 11, civil servants across the country were recognized for everything from their heroic acts in Manhattan to their support for our troops in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq. From the White House to Main Street USA, civil servants were acknowledged for their contributions to America. And yet despite all of their dedication and patriotism to America, they soon came under attack but not from bombs or bullets but from the same politicians that sang their praises after 9/11.

Using catch phrase “National Security,” the Bush administration continued its reign of terror on federal employees. First, Bush abolished collective bargaining agreements and recognition rights in five separate Justice Department offices. He then did the same thing at several military installations including 1,300 union members at the National Imagery and Mapping Agency.