Obama Plans Could Shake Up Federal Workforce

In fiscal 2003, for example, the administration issued 43,131 contracts worth $107 billion without full and open competition, or 37 percent of all federal procurement spending.

By comparison, the federal government spent $67 billion on non-competitive contracts in the final year of the Clinton administration.

A dominating theme throughout Obama's campaign has been the scorn heaped on lobbyists who were not welcomed in his campaign-- and whose money was also rejected. It appears that theme will continue.

Obama vows to "close the revolving door" between the executive branch and K Street lobbyists, by imposing tight rules governing those who leave powerful government job to capitalize on their access.

No political appointees would be allowed to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employers for two years. And no political appointee would be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration. Currently, senior level staff of both the executive and legislative branches are prohibited from making direct lobbying contacts with former colleagues for one year after leaving public service.

Obama hopes to attract a generation of young public servants whose idealism brings them to government. His plan is to introduce a $3.5 billion national-service program that would expand AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps as well as provide tax credits of up to $4,000 year to help underwrite college educations in exchange for public service.

Obama has talked about reducing middle manager jobs and beefing up the number of employees directly providing services, but Light says the real problem lies in the top-heavy nature of the political appointments, where senior positions far outnumber those in the corporate world.

As part of his pledge to free the executive branch of special-interest influence, Obama has said he would give the Office of Government Ethics, now largely an advisory office, strong enforcement authority.

The Republican Party has always been an advocate for smaller government, but this wasn't the case during the Bush administration. According to a recent study, not only is the number of federal civil servants on the rise, but so are the numbers of employees working for government-funded contractors and for organizations that receive government grants.

Add it all up--and throw in postal workers and the military personnel-- and the federal payroll goes out to 14 million employees.