As private companies scan newly released inventories of the federal workforce for contracting opportunities, federal agencies' plans for the moment are to keep most jobs in-house. Of the 320,000 jobs in those agencies, more than 100,000 could be outsourced, according to an analysis by the Office of Management and Budget. Under the FAIR Act, private companies can challenge an agency's categorization of a job. Andrew Fortin, manager of privatization policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber is reviewing the lists to see if challenges are in order.
Information is a dangerous thing.
You'll see some increasing pressure from the private sector and Congress to compete the work or outsource it directly, much like private sector companies have focused on their core businesses and outsourced non-core activities. For the time being, however, most agencies are saying that even work that could potentially be performed by the private sector should not be outsourced. The Education Department also said none of the 3,624 jobs on its list is ripe for outsourcing. Just as companies can protest an agency's contention that a certain activity is inherently governmental, employee unions can protest the inclusion of activities on the outsourcing lists. Bobby Harnage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said recently that the administration is not following through on a promise to try to count the number of contractor employees who perform government work.