Veterans Lobby Balks at Proposal to Streamline Hiring

Stephen Barr can be reached by e-mail at barrs@washpost.com.

Veterans preference has proved to be a politically sensitive topic for virtually every administration. Now, it's the Bush administration's turn.

An administration proposal to streamline civil service hiring procedures has drawn criticism from the Veterans of Foreign Wars as "a blatant and deliberate attempt" to circumvent the preference given to federal job applicants who have served their country in military uniform.

Administration officials, however, say that they are dedicated to veterans preference and that they do not believe their streamlining proposal will undermine it. They note that the model for part of the legislative proposal -- an alternative hiring system used by the Agriculture Department -- increased the number of veterans hired.

Veterans preference has played a role in federal employment since 1865 and gives military veterans an edge in hiring over other equally qualified persons. Veterans typically get extra points, based on their service record or disabilities, when agencies rank job applicants for hiring.

While not directly addressing veterans preference, the administration's proposal would revamp civil service law to make it easier for agencies to speed up their hiring, especially for top college graduates who often take a private-sector job rather than wait months to hear back from the government.

According to officials, the administration's proposal would permit agencies to make quick job offers to fill critical positions or when they face a shortage of applicants. The proposal also would permit agencies to use alternative procedures, such as those developed by the Agriculture Department, for evaluating job applicants.

The VFW does not object to streamlining the federal hiring system, but thinks the administration's proposal would make it easier for agency managers to pass over veterans,said Jim Magill, the VFW's director of employment policy.

"In light of the acts of Sept. 11, we don't think this is a message that should be sent to people in the armed forces or who are being activated in the Guard or reserves -- not the time to send a message that they may not be able to get the jobs they have earned through their service," Magill said.

The VFW notified the administration of its concerns about the proposed civil service hiring changes in a letter to Vice President Cheney last month. Shortly afterward, the Office of Personnel Management announced it would hold regular meetings with veterans service organizations to hear their concerns.

"During the current situation in our country, I want to make certain that our veterans understand that the federal government places a high priority on ensuring that veterans receive due preference in competitive hiring and all of the other benefits to which they are entitled," OPM Director Kay Coles James said in a statement.

For several years, federal personnel officials have been searching for ways to modify the government's hiring process, which many managers think is increasingly ill-suited to today's fast-moving, technology-based workplace. Under civil service law, agencies recommend three candidates to the manager who is hiring. In many cases, veterans preference influences who is put on the list.

To broaden the pool of applicants for managers, the Agriculture Department began a five-year "demonstration project" in 1990. The project was later made permanent for two divisions, the Forest Service and the Agricultural Research Service.

Job applicants meeting minimum standards were divided into two groups -- called quality and eligible -- on the basis of their education, experience and ability. Managers could hire from the quality group, with preference given to veterans. But veterans ranked in the second category were effectively removed from consideration for the job opening.

An outside study found more veterans hired at the Agricultural Research Service (16.3 percent at the demonstration sites vs. 9.5 percent at comparison sites) and slightly more veterans hired in the Forest Service (18.9 percent vs. 16.7 percent).

The VFW, however, fears that the Bush administration proposal goes too far in giving managers more discretion in hiring. The group, in its letter to Cheney, promised to "intensify our opposition to this ill-advised assault on our veterans."

Stephen Barr's e-mail address is barrs@washpost.com.

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