By Stephen Barr
Friday, May 23, 2008
To help the government attract scientists, doctors, economists and other highly skilled professionals, two House members yesterday introduced a bill that would create graduate-level scholarships for students who commit to public service.
Recipients of the awards would be called Roosevelt Scholars, named for Theodore Roosevelt, the president widely considered to be the father of the modern civil service.
Reps. David E. Price (D-N.C.) and Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) teamed up to introduce the legislation, aimed at making the government more competitive in hiring for what the bill calls "mission-critical positions."
About a third of the government's seasoned professional and technical employees will likely retire in the next five years, according to projections by the Office of Personnel Management. The baby-boom retirements come as Labor Department forecasts show the nation's workforce growing at a slower pace, setting off keen competition for talent in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
"In the face of a dwindling professional workforce, we must act now to recruit the scientists, engineers and other high-level experts who make our government work," Price said. "Our initiative would mobilize the country's colleges and universities to address this very acute challenge."
Shays, noting that the cost of college continues to rise, said the government needs to "provide resources, like tuition assistance, in order for these jobs to compete with the salaries available to top-notch employees in the private sector."
The Roosevelt Scholars program would provide tuition, room and board, and a stipend for graduate study, up to $60,000 for an academic year. In exchange, scholarship recipients would be required to serve an internship in a federal agency and, upon graduation, serve at least three years in the government.
The bill would provide $10 million in initial funding to establish a nonprofit foundation to manage the scholarships. The foundation would be expected to build an endowment and become self-sustaining over time.
One of the leading supporters of the scholarship has been the Partnership for Public Service, a District-based nonprofit group that sponsors research on the civil service and promotes efforts to improve the government's recruitment strategies.
Max Stier, the partnership's president, said that the military has attracted talented young Americans through officer training programs on college campuses and that the Roosevelt scholarship program "is, in essence, a ROTC program for civilians."
The scholarships also would lend prestige to the civil service, Stier said.
"The intent here is to create a brand as attractive and as powerful as the most elite out there," he said.
Shays also is a co-sponsor of legislation that would create a U.S. Public Service Academy, modeled after the U.S. military academies. It would offer free education to undergraduates in exchange for their pledge to work for five years in local, state or federal government jobs.
Rules Rewrite at DefenseThe Defense Department and Office of Personnel Management yesterday issued proposed regulations to revise the National Security Personnel System as directed by Congress last year.
About 181,000 Defense civil service employees have transferred into the NSPS, and an additional 25,000 will probably convert to the system in the fall. The program is one of the government's largest "pay for performance" programs, which officials say will make it easier for the department to better reward its best workers. It is also one of the most controversial.
Federal unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees, had challenged the original rules in court, contending that they went too far in curbing union and employee rights. At the urging of the unions, Congress directed the Bush administration to follow government-wide rules for collective bargaining and for appeals by employees of major disciplinary action.
Congress also told the Pentagon to ensure that NSPS employees receive at least 60 percent of the annual government-wide pay raise as a base salary increase if their work is acceptable. Employees also are eligible for additional raises tied to their job performance ratings.
The proposed rules will be open for comment for 30 days. Enid Doggett, a spokeswoman for AFGE, said yesterday that union officials were reviewing the rules but were skeptical that they would meet the intent of Congress.
Talk ShowCharles R. Christopherson Jr., chief financial officer and chief information officer at the Agriculture Department, will be the guest on the IBM "Business of Government Hour" at 9 a.m. Saturday on WJFK radio (106.7 FM).
Stephen Barr's e-mail address isbarrs@washpost.com.
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