Personnel News: June 1996 Archives

Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20516-6143

June 28, 1996

Mr. Daniel Goldin
Administrator
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
300 E Street, SW
Washington, DC 20546

Dear Mr. Goldin:

As Chairman of the National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice Subcommittee of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee, I will be holding the first of a series of oversight hearings on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration infrastructure "downsizing". I am writing to invite you to testify before the Subcommittee at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 24, 1996, in room 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.

We have completed the review of your submissions to the target Headquarters (HQ) personnel guidelines you received on April 17, 1996. We are proceeding to the next phase and have enclosed a revised target ceiling for your organizations. The recommended level of additional functional migrations is also provided. Current NASA HQ detailees to other agencies are listed separately and are not included in your ceiling.

Consistent with the recommendations of the Functional Management Structure and Process Study led by Roy Estess, it is now appropriate for each functional/staff office to begin negotiations on functional "contracts". It is essential that the Enterprise Associate Administrators actively participate in this activity to clearly understand the support services within their office vis-a-vis those provided by the functional/staff offices. Functional/staff services must be categorized as either functional leadership, staff to the Administrator, or central service provision and for each area the roles and responsibilities, reporting relationships, funding and resource management approaches must be identified. Some specific guidance is provided below. This list may not be all inclusive; it is based on our discussions to date regarding your submissions.

United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

June 18, 1996

The Honorable Al Gore
Vice President of the United States
Old Executive Office building
Washington, DC 20501

Dear Mr. Vice President:

We applaud your ongoing leadership and commitment to reinventing government. But we are particularly concerned about the recent announcement that NASA will use reductions-in-force to cut its headquarters' staff by about one-half, or about 700 employees, by October 1997. We are concerned that such an action will unduly hurt federal employees, jeopardize efforts to create a government that works better and costs less, and weaken the country's space program.

Our nation's economy is vibrant and strong today because industry has reinvented itself to become focused on customers and quality. The Federal Government is doing the same, working to provide world class quality for each tax dollar. But industry has learned that success in attaining quality goals requires full partnership with its workforce, freeing up employee innovation and initiative. Effective corporate managers forced to downsize their organization do so in such a way that preserves corporate vitality and productivity, respects employees, and protects workforce morale.

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV
West Virginia
United States Senate
WASHINGTON DC 20510-4802

June 18, 1996

Dear Dan,

I am concerned to learn of plans by NASA to cut up to one-half of its headquarters' staff by October of next year. I wish to learn more of the current staffing situation at NASA, and to work with you to identify any actions that might be taken to ease the impact of reductions on the agency and its employees.

You have worked hard to restructure NASA and to maintain current programs in a difficult budget climate. The proposed deep cuts in NASA's headquarters staff are clearly part of this restructuring. But as we in Congress work on NASA's future budgets I want to make sure that I understand both the causes and the likely effects of these headquarters cuts, as well as cuts elsewhere in the agency, Therefore, this better requests responses to the following questions: