FEINGOLD-KOHL BACKED STUDY CALLS INTO QUESTION PRESIDENT’S PLAN TO OUTSOURCE JOBS GAO Audit, Requested by Feingold and Kohl, Shows Administration’s Claims of Savings Through Outsourcing Federal Agency Jobs Were Based on Incomplete Data February 21, 2008 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl are questioning the administration’s initiative to outsource federal agency jobs to private companies after a government study of the plan at the U.S. Forest Service revealed that it is unclear if the program actually saved any money. Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released an audit, requested by Feingold, Kohl, and several other senators, on the competitive sourcing program at the United State Forest Service (USFS) which the administration billed as a way to cut down on government spending. The GAO audit found that the USFS did not maintain reliable data on its competitive sourcing program and that costs associated with implementing the program may have exceeded the agency’s stated savings. The GAO report also revealed that USFS does not have a policy in place to assess how more competitions could affect the agency’s capacity to react to emergencies, including wildfires. Feingold and Kohl requested the original report along with Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and former-Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT). “The administration’s competitive sourcing plan was dubious from the start, and now we see that the program may have actually increased costs for American taxpayers,” Feingold said. “Congress needs to take a long hard look at the administration’s competitive sourcing agenda after such a damning report. I will work with my colleagues in Congress to bring more accountability to the administration’s questionable competitive sourcing agenda.” “It is clear from the findings of this report that administration’s competitive sourcing program neither saved taxpayers their money nor did it make the Forest Service more effective,” Kohl said. “The time is now to take a serious look at the actual credibility and merits of this hiring program as implemented by the administration, which played fast and free with the facts in providing a different picture than the reality.” When competitive sourcing competitions take place, federal agencies identify certain jobs for potential outsourcing and a process is established in which federal agencies compete against private sector companies to determine which organization can perform the work for the least cost. Feingold requested the GAO audit of the USFS competitive sourcing program because numerous problems have been reported in recent years with the implementation of competitive sourcing, particularly at the USFS. A copy of the GAO audit is available here.

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