Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) wants federal agencies to stop hiring companies to perform jobs that are “
inherently governmental functions,” which by their very definition are never supposed to be contracted out.
Examples of these jobs include criminal investigations, commanding military forces, directing and controlling intelligence and counter-intelligence operations, crafting agency policies and budgets, and awarding and administering contracts.
The Obama administration, led by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), objects to Durbin’s effort. OMB says contractors should be allowed to perform work closely associated with inherently governmental functions as long as agencies conduct proper oversight of the work. Some watchdog organizations, such as the
Project on Government Oversight, consider it unlikely that such oversight would be effective.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Army Gives 4,200 Jobs to Contractors that are Meant for Federal Employees (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)