Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 4013 - Veterans Health Administration Workforce Reduction Exemption

(House)
(Rep. Rowland (D) GA and 18 others)

The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 4013 because it would preclude VA from reducing staff in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) during the next five years.

The Administration cannot support a restriction on the Executive Branch's ability to manage staffing levels, as VA has testified. Such a restriction would be inconsistent with the Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994 which mandates a Government- wide staff reduction of 272,900 full-time equivalent positions by FY 1999. This requirement makes it imperative that Executive branch agencies retain the authority to manage staffing levels.

VA has already identified several areas -- closing supply depots and reorganizing VHA's regional offices -- in which services can be improved while using fewer resources. It is critical that VHA continue to look for further opportunities to become more efficient in order to effectively compete under health care reform.

Finally, VHA's sheer size indicates that it can participate in the Government-wide review of staffing levels. VHA is by far the largest civilian, non-postal agency. With 212,657 full-time equivalent positions in 1994, it is larger than the Departments of Health and Human Services, the Treasury, and Justice individually, and six additional cabinet agencies combined.

Last year the Administration worked closely with the Appropriations Committees to eliminate most full-time equivalent position restrictions previously contained in many annual appropriations bills. The Administration applauds the Congress' past support for this effort. The Administration strongly opposes the establishment of such restrictions in this bill and urges the House to reject it.