New Congress Expected to Scrutinize Government Management

The new Congress will take a more skeptical view of the Bush administration's approach to managing the federal government, in particular efforts to contract out federal jobs and link employee pay raises more closely to job performance.

Those were the post-election predictions offered by a number of public policy experts, union leaders and Democrats yesterday.

Policy analysts said they expected that the Democratic takeover of the House and possible capture of the Senate would lead to more-rigorous oversight to root out waste, fraud and abuse in government. Federal union leaders saw the election results as an opportunity to roll back some of the administration's workforce initiatives.

Key members of Congress from both parties traditionally put aside partisan differences and work closely with one another on civil-service issues. More than likely, the same House and Senate members will continue to cooperate on issues important to federal employees, such as pay, benefits and retirement.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) is in line to take the chair of the House Government Reform Committee, replacing Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.). Before the election, Waxman said his priorities would be to tighten restrictions on lobbyists, clean up federal contracting, improve whistle-blower protections for federal employees and reduce cronyism in political appointments.

Some employee groups said yesterday that they expect to see Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) serve as a bridge between Waxman and Davis on federal employee issues. Van Hollen said he "would be happy to work with both of them," adding that he hopes to find "some long-term resolution" that ends annual legislative fights over contracting out of federal work.

Outsourcing efforts "have demoralized people throughout the federal workforce," Van Hollen said. "The amount of time, energy and anxiety spent going through this process has far outweighed any benefit."

If the Senate changes party control, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, a career Democrat who won as an independent, seems likely to take the helm of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The committee is chaired by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), and she and Lieberman have enjoyed a collegial relationship on a number of issues, including how to restructure the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the administration's sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina.

The shift to a divided government could make it difficult for either side to launch initiatives that directly affect federal employees, analysts said.

"Federal employees should expect that things will go slow on the president's agenda, and they have gotten a two-year break in the action," said Paul C. Light , a New York University professor who studies public-service issues.

George Nesterczuk , a Republican policy adviser on civil-service issues, said the election results would not stop the White House from continuing with its management changes inside agencies. Still, he added, "Quite frankly, I don't see much happening in the next two years."