Bill: Stop military-civilian job conversions

Bill: Stop military-civilian job conversions
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Dec 12, 2007 5:51:27 EST

Congressional negotiators have agreed not only to stop the conversion of military medical jobs into civilian positions, but they also want to roll back the clock on some conversions already made.

The compromise version of the 2008 defense authorization bill, which should come to a final vote in the House and Senate as early as this week, would prohibit the conversion of any military medical or dental jobs into civilian positions through Sept. 30, 2012.

It also orders that any military medical or dental jobs converted to civilian positions from Oct. 1, 2004, through Sept. 30, 2008, be restored to a military position if they have not been already filled by a civilian.

Part of the reason for the rollback is that lawmakers do not believe the Defense Department has been following conversion rules passed by Congress two years ago. Those rules require certification that any uniformed job given to a civilian employee would not increase the cost of health care, decrease the quality or access to care, or hurt military recruiting and retention.

In a report accompanying the bill, negotiators say they are “concerned that the military departments have not fully addressed the certification requirements.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/12/military_jobconversions_071211w/