FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 3, 2004
BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE CAUCUS ESTABLISHED TO HELP RAISE THE VOLUME ON CHALLENGES FACING THE FEDERAL CIVIL SERVICE
Washington, D.C. – At a Capitol Hill reception, the Partnership for Public Service today honored the members of the Congressional Public Service Caucus. The Congressional Public Service Caucus is a newly-formed bipartisan, bicameral organization of Members of Congress committed to building and maintaining a civil service worthy of a great nation.
The Congressional Public Service Caucus is led by ten co-chairs: Representative Tom Davis (R-VA), Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH), Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (D-CT), Representative Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA), Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Representative Danny Davis (D-IL).
“Turning up the volume on the challenges facing our nation's civil servants is key to achieving a high-performing federal workforce that inspires America's best and brightest to serve,” said Partnership for Public Service President Max Stier. “I commend the leaders of the new Congressional Public Service Caucus for their willingness to address the critically important issue of civil service reform.”
Currently, the Caucus consists of 37 members. In addition to the ten co-chairs, these include Senator John Warner (R-VA), Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Representative Jim Greenwood (R-PA), Representative Michael McNulty (D-NY), Representative Adam Putnam
(R-FL), Representative John McHugh (R-NY), Representative Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Representative Jim Moran (D-VA), Representative James Oberstar (D-MN), Representative Martin Sabo (D-MN), Representative Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA), Representative Jim Walsh (R-NY), Representative Christopher Shays (R-CT), Representative Ed Schrock (R-VA),
Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Representative Adam Smith (D-WA), Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN), Representative Jack Quinn (R-NY), Representative Thomas Petri (R-WI), Representative Early Pomeroy (D-ND), and Representative Jim Leach (R-IA).
The challenges facing the federal government – the nation's largest employer – are steep. Approximately 53% of the 1.8 million workers in the federal government may be eligible to retire by 2007. This includes 69% of the federal government's most experienced supervisors. At the same time, only one out of four college-educated workers expresses significant interest in working for the federal government, according to a public opinion study conducted by the Partnership for Public Service in September 2002.
WHAT MEMBERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE CONGRESSIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE CAUCUS
"This Caucus can and should help elevate the dialogue on one of the most pressing and important issues facing the federal government: how to reinvigorate a culture of public service in America."
- U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), Chair, House Government Reform Committee
“The daily work of federal employees improves our world and touches our lives – often without notice. We owe it to the 1.8 million men and women of our federal workforce to explore common ground and common sense solutions for revitalizing the civil service and inspiring a new generation to serve.”
- U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Minority Whip
"We owe it to American taxpayers to make sure that the federal government is up to the task of delivering the services they want and need on issues from homeland security to health care. That means making sure that the federal workforce has the skills and resources to do the job and that the best and brightest see federal service as a place they want to work."
- U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH), Chair, Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
“With over 20,000 federal employees serving in Hawaii alone, I am committed to exploring ways to help the federal government improve its effectiveness and its ability to attract – and keep – skilled and talented workers. The Congressional Public Service Caucus will provide a useful forum for taking the first steps toward this critical goal.”
- U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Ranking Minority Member, Senate Subcommittee on Financial Management, the Budget, and International Security
“The Congressional Public Service Caucus will fill an important and much-needed role by raising awareness of those challenges standing in the way of federal employees as they carry out the nation's important work. I look forward to starting a conversation about these issues, which range from reforming outdated laws that keep the federal government from attracting the best and brightest to modernizing the government's management practices so it can effectively compete with the private sector.”
- U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), Chair, House Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Reorganization
“Every day, the nation depends upon federal employees to protect our homeland and our way of life. The federal government needs the tools to put qualified people into these jobs and to manage them effectively. The Congressional Public Service Caucus will give us an arena for dialogue on this often overlooked but critically important issue.”
- U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), Chair, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies
"Federal employees are the dedicated men and women responsible for keeping our air, food and water safe, protecting our skies and ports, monitoring our markets, and safeguarding our public health system. The Congressional Public Service Caucus will help ensure that their concerns are heard and identify possible solutions to the workforce challenges they face."
- U.S. Representative Danny Davis (D-IL), Ranking Minority Member, House Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization
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The Partnership for Public Service works to revitalize our federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.
