Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Administration takes first crack at controversial women’s procurement program

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By Elizabeth Newell – GovExec.com

The Obama administration has stepped in to address a controversial women’s procurement program that was mired in rule-making and lawsuits during much of the Bush era.

The Small Business Administration on Tuesday released a proposed rule identifying 83 industries in which women-owned small businesses are underrepresented, a substantial departure from a 2008 proposal that identified only four such industries.

An SBA statement said the proposed rule was “aimed at expanding federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses” and was part of the Obama administration’s overall commitment to expanding opportunities for small enterprises — particularly those owned by women, minorities and veterans — in the federal marketplace.

“Women-owned small businesses are one of the fastest-growing segments of our economy, yet they continue to be underrepresented when it comes to federal contracting,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. “This proposed rule is a step forward in helping ensure greater access for women-owned small businesses in the federal marketplace.”

Congress in 2000 authorized a rule to increase federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small firms and help agencies meet the statutory goal of awarding 5 percent of contracting dollars to women-owned small businesses. The rule, however, has been repeatedly delayed, rewritten and scrapped.

The 2008 rule set off a firestorm of complaints from lawmakers and women’s advocates, who accused SBA of choosing the narrowest methodology for determining underrepresentation. The number of industries in which women are underrepresented was determined through a RAND Corp. study, which offered several possible methodologies that showed women were underrepresented in anywhere from 87 percent of industries to none at all.

According to SBA, the Obama administration decided last year to scrap existing proposals and draft a new, comprehensive rule “based on the analysis of the prior studies and on all the questions and comments previously received.”

The proposed rule authorizes set-aside contracts under a certain dollar amount for women-owned small businesses in the industries in which they are underrepresented. The eligible industries were identified based on a combination of both the share of contracting dollars awarded to women-owned firms and the share of contracts awarded. This is a departure from the previous rule, which identified industries in which women-owned small businesses were underrepresented based solely on the share of contracting dollars.

Additionally, the new rule does not require every federal agency to certify that it had engaged in discrimination against women-owned small firms for the procurement program to apply in that agency.

The proposed rule is open for comment until May 3.

(C) 2010 BY NATIONAL JOURNAL GROUP, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

SBA Proposes Women-Owned Small Business Rule To Expand Access to Federal Contracting Opportunities

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Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration today released a
proposed rule aimed at expanding federal contracting opportunities for women-
owned small businesses (WOSB).  The proposed rule is available for public
comment for 60 days.

The proposed rule is part of the Obama Administration’s overall commitment to expanding opportunities for small businesses to compete for federal contracts, in particular those owned by women, minorities and veterans.  This proposed
rule identifies 83 industries in which WOSBs are under-represented or substantially under-represented in the federal contract marketplace.  This rule
is aimed at providing greater opportunities for WOSBs to compete for federal contracts, while achieving the existing statutory goal that 5 percent of federal
contracting dollars go to women-owned small businesses.

“Women-owned small businesses are one of the fastest growing segments of our economy, yet they continue to be under-represented when it comes to
federal contracting,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills.  “Across the country, women are leading strong, innovative companies, and we know that securing federal contracts can be the opportunity that helps them take their businesses to the next level, expand their volume and create good-paying jobs.  This proposed rule is a step forward in helping ensure greater access for women-owned small businesses in the federal marketplace.”

The creation of a rule to increase federal contracting opportunities for WOSBs was authorized by Congress in 2000.  Since that time, SBA took a number of steps to study and analyze the market, including looking at participation by women-owned small businesses across all industries. Various draft rules were
made available for public comment in prior years, but the Obama Administration chose last year to draft a new, comprehensive rule, based on the analysis of
the prior studies and on all the questions and comments previously received.

Some of the components of the proposed Women-Owned Small Business rule include:

• To be eligible, a firm must be 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more women, and primarily managed by one or more women. The women must
be U.S. citizens. The firm must be “small” in its primary industry in accordance with SBA’s size standards for that industry.  In order for a WOSB to be deemed “economically disadvantaged,” its owners must demonstrate economic disadvantage in accordance with the requirements set forth in the proposed rule.

• Based upon the analysis in a study commissioned by the SBA from the Kauffman-RAND Foundation, the proposed rule identifies 83 industries
(identified by “NAICS” codes) in which women-owned small businesses are under-represented or substantially under-represented.
o The SBA has identified eligible industries based upon the combination of both the “share of contracting dollars” analysis, as well as the “share of number of contracts awarded” analysis used in the RAND study.  This differs from an earlier proposed version of the rule which identified only four industries in which women-owned small businesses were under-represented.  This earlier version proposed to identify eligible industries based solely on the “share of contracting dollars” analysis used in the RAND study.

• In accordance with the statute, the proposed rule authorizes a set-aside of federal contracts for WOSBs where the anticipated contract price does not
exceed $5 million in the case of manufacturing contracts and $3 million in the case of other contracts.  Contracts with values in excess of these limits are not subject to set-aside under this program.

• The proposed rule removes the requirement, set forth in a prior proposed version, that each federal agency certify that it had engaged in discrimination against women-owned small businesses in order for the program to apply to contracting by that agency.

• The proposed rule allows women-owned small businesses to self-certify as “WOSBs” or to be certified by third-party certifiers, including government entities and private certification groups.

o The proposed rule requires WOSBs which self-certify to submit a robust certification at the federal ORCA Web site and also to submit a core set of
eligibility-related documents to an online “document repository” to be maintained by the SBA.  Each agency’s contracting officers will have full access to this repository.

o The SBA intends to engage in a significant number of program examinations to confirm eligibility of individual WOSBs.

o In the event of a contract protest or program review, the SBA will be entitled to request substantial additional documentation from the WOSB to
establish eligibility.

o SBA intends vigorously to pursue ineligible firms which seek to take advantage of this program and in so doing to deny its benefits to the intended
legitimate WOSBs.

The public may submit comments to this proposed rule up until close of business on May 3, 2010, to http://www.regulations.gov/, where they will be posted
after 4 p.m. EST today, or by mailing them to Dean Koppel, Assistant Director, Office of Policy and Research, Office of Government Contracting, U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 3rd St. SW, Washington, DC  20416.   Please reference RIN 3245-AG06 when submitting comments.

GSA solicits comments on contractor performance database

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By Emily Long – 03/01/10

The General Services Administration is looking for feedback on its federal contractor performance database, according to a notice published on Monday in the Federal Register.

GSA is soliciting comments on the necessity of the data gathered in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information Systems to the acquisition process. The agency also is looking for ideas to improve data quality and for ways to minimize the reporting burden through information technology.

The system, known as FAPIIS, will collect data on criminal, civil or administrative proceedings against contractors and grant recipients. All companies with contracts or grants exceeding $10 million will be required to submit information to the database, which was mandated by a provision in the 2009 Defense Authorization Act.

Federal contracting officers will be expected to check the database when making a responsibility determination or conducting a past performance evaluation for all new contracts worth more than $500,000.

Stan Soloway, president and chief executive officer of the Professional Services Council, said a potential problem with the system is the scope and diversity of the information required could make it difficult for someone not trained in law to determine the severity and patterns of abuse.

“How do we avoid penalizing those whose errors are administrative rather than defrauding? Companies will have to pay close attention to the information entered,” he said.

The database hasn’t yet been created, said Gary Therkildsen, federal fiscal policy analyst at the nonprofit OMBWatch. Monday’s notice asks for comments to fine-tune some of the system’s details, which indicates GSA is coming to the end of the process, he added.

GSA estimates that of the 12,000 to 14,000 contracts worth more than $500,000 annually, 5,000 recipients will be required to submit information to the database. Contractors will be required to update FAPIIS on a semiannual basis. Including time required for record-keeping, the agency has calculated a total reporting burden at 505,000 hours.

The request for comments ends March 31, 2010.

© 2010 BY NATIONAL JOURNAL GROUP, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Officials still hope firms will compete for tanker deal

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By Megan Scully CongressDaily February 25, 2010

Senior Pentagon officials on Wednesday said they hoped the final request for proposals on the Air Force’s high-stakes tanker program would spur competition between two aerospace giants, sidestepping questions about their strategy should one of the bidders drop out.

Speaking at the Pentagon after several briefings to lawmakers and aircraft manufacturers on the final request for proposals for a fleet of aerial refueling tankers, officials said they believed they had laid the groundwork for a fair, open and transparent competition.

“We hope and expect to have a good competition,” Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said.

But the reaction on Capitol Hill set a different tone, with concerns from Alabama’s congressional delegation raising questions about whether there will be two bidders for the program.

Northrop Grumman Corp., which has teamed up with EADS, the European consortium behind Airbus, has planned to compete for the contract and, if successful, would build the planes at a new facility in Mobile, Ala.

But Northrop officials have threatened to pull out of the competition for the procurement program — worth as much as $40 billion — amid concerns that an initial draft RFP favored a smaller-body Boeing 767 aircraft over their offering of a modified Airbus 330.

Northrop’s initial reaction Tuesday to the final RFP was lukewarm, acknowledging receipt of the document.

“Northrop Grumman will analyze the RFP and defer further public comments until its review of the document has been completed,” spokesman Randy Belote said in a prepared statement.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said he would urge the Northrop Grumman-EADS team to compete but said there had been few changes to the draft RFP.

Sessions said he is worried the team would opt out of the bidding. “They’ll have to do what is in their best interest,” he said.

At the Pentagon, Deputy Defense Secretary Bill Lynn said he believes it is in Northrop’s interest to bid for the contract to provide the Air Force with state-of-the-art tankers to replace Eisenhower-era KC-135s still in heavy use.

“Northrop has a choice to make,” Lynn said. “We’re hoping Northrop chooses, with its European partner, to bid. … We have options that we could pursue if they don’t.”

Lynn would not discuss in further detail the Pentagon’s options in the case Boeing becomes a candidate for a sole-source contract. Instead, the Pentagon’s No. 2 official emphasized his hope that there will be a competition.

For its part, Boeing released a statement from Jean Chamberlain, general manager of its tanker program, stating that it has begun the process of “closely studying the details” of the final RFP.

“We’ve said consistently that it is up to the Air Force to determine the KC-X requirements for a new generation of tankers,” Chamberlain said, referring to the current designation of the next-generation tankers. “It’s our responsibility to respond to those requirements.”

(C) 2010 BY NATIONAL JOURNAL GROUP, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Report finds federal regulations have delayed stimulus projects

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By Robert Brodsky rbrodsky@govexec.com February 19, 2010

A bevy of strict federal regulations imposed on agencies and government contractors have slowed the pace of some Recovery Act projects, according to a report released on Thursday by the Government Accountability Office.

Federal agencies and state and local governments told GAO that several decades-old rules, including those designed to protect the environment, ensure that employees are paid a fair salary and guarantee that parts and manufactured goods are purchased domestically have affected their ability to select and start stimulus projects.

For example, the Commerce, Energy, and Housing and Urban Development departments, along with the Environmental Protection Agency, have faced delays in complying with the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act, which requires contractors and subcontractors to pay workers the locally prevailing wages on most federally funded construction projects.

The Energy Department’s massive Weatherization Assistance Program was subjected to the Davis-Bacon requirements for the first time because of the stimulus rules after previously being exempt. The agency, however, could not allocate funds to state and local governments for the program until the Labor Department determined the prevailing wages for weatherization workers in each county nationwide — a task that was not completed until Sept. 3, 2009.

By the end of 2009, only 9,100 of a planned 593,000 homes had been weatherized using stimulus funds, according to GAO.

“States used only a small percentage of their available funds in 2009, mostly because state and local agencies needed time to develop the infrastructures required for managing the significant increase in weatherization funding and for ensuring compliance with Recovery Act requirements, including Davis-Bacon requirements,” the report said.

The Energy Department, however, said GAO’s figures are out of date and, according to one news report, 124,000 homes were weatherized through the end of 2009.

Complying with the Buy American provision, which, with some exemptions, requires that raw materials and manufactured goods be produced in the United States, also became a concern for some agencies, investigators found.

The Homeland Security Department’s electronic baggage screening program was delayed as officials waited for a Buy American waiver because the contractor discovered that only foreign-made components would integrate with certain airport security systems, the report said. Likewise, officials from the Chicago Housing Authority needed to wait for a waiver after they found that security cameras compatible with their system were not made in the United States.

In some cases, agencies such as EPA had to develop new guidance for complying with the Buy American provisions and for issuing waivers to recipients that were unable to meet the regulation.

“An industry representative told us that the Buy American provisions could interrupt contractors’ supply chains, requiring them to find alternate suppliers and sometimes change the design of their projects, which could delay project starts,” the report said.

The report, which was requested by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., likely will add fuel to the debate over the stimulus, which was signed one year ago this week. Republicans argue the legislation has failed to spur job growth while the White House claims the stimulus has helped turn around the economy.

“We are focused on implementing the Recovery Act quickly and effectively, putting people to work today while building the long-term foundation for sustainable economic strength,” said Thomas Gavin, a spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget. “Congress, in writing the law, wanted to ensure that all possible Recovery Act opportunities are available for American workers and American companies. We’ll continue to strive to do that, expanding opportunities and jobs for the American people,” he said.

McConnell’s office did not respond to a request for comment about GAO’s findings.

Federal regulations were not the only barrier to spending stimulus money quickly. State budget issues, mandatory project reviews and higher than expected staff workloads also presented challenges, officials told GAO.

To circumvent some of these problems and to expedite spending, agencies frequently chose projects that already had satisfied key federal requirements, such as environmental reviews. Others used existing funding streams or modified ongoing contracts, avoiding lengthy new competitions.

The 27 agencies reviewed by GAO had obligated $194 billion of the approximately $309 billion in stimulus project spending by the end of 2009.

(C) 2010 BY NATIONAL JOURNAL GROUP, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

VA tightens rules for veterans contracting program

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By Robert Brodsky rbrodsky@govexec.com February 9, 2010

The Veterans Affairs Department has set strict guidelines for bidding on contracts set-aside for veteran-owned small businesses.

Entrepreneurs will be allowed only one company at a time in the contracting program and must work full time in the business, according to a final rule published on Monday in the Federal Register.

A May 2008 interim rule only required participants to “show sustained and significant time invested in the business.” But comments on the proposal convinced agency officials to limit consideration to veteran-owned small businesses in which the owner has a day-to-day management role. Though the rule is final, VA is accepting comments on the owner-involvement change through March 10.

“VA has determined that this revision will ensure the integrity of the program,” the rule stated.

The regulation implements portions of the 2006 Veterans Benefits, Health Care and Information Technology Act and governs entry to a VA set-aside contracting program for veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, established in December 2009. The program would allow the department to let sole-source contracts to these firms, for awards of up to $5 million.

To participate in the program, companies must register with the VetBiz.gov Vendor Information Pages database to verify they meet all eligibility requirements. Any company that misrepresents itself in the database could face debarment for up to five years. The department’s Center for Veterans Enterprise will make the final decision on application denials.

“Any firm registered in the VA VetBiz VIP database that is found to be ineligible due to an SBA protest decision or other negative finding will be immediately removed from the VetBiz VIP database,” the final rule stated.

Previously, vendors could self-certify the accuracy of the information provided. But now, officials with the Center for Veterans Enterprise must verify the data as part of the VetBiz application process. There are nearly 16,000 veteran-owned small businesses in the VetBiz database, including about 9,000 service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.

But, VA said it does not have the resources to conduct site visits to all firms applying to participate in the program.

“VA finds that mandatory site visits could be an unnecessary burden to vendors when VA can adequately verify firms through other means, such as document review,” the rule stated. “The department will monitor awards to companies in the verification program and make decisions on which companies to inspect using a combination of factors, including staffing and funding.”

Veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses also must recertify their status annually to remain in the program.

In October, the Government Accountability Office released a report showing the governmentwide service-disabled, veteran-owned small business contracting program was vulnerable to fraud and abuse. By conducting 10 case studies, the watchdog agency found $100 million in contracts had been collected through fraud or abuse of the program.

VA awarded 35 percent of its fiscal 2008 contract dollars to small companies, including 15 percent to veteran-owned small firms and 12 percent to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. In contrast, the government as a whole awarded 3 percent of contract dollars to veteran-owned firms and just 1.5 percent to small companies owned by service-disabled veterans. The governmentwide goal in both categories is 3 percent.

(C) 2010 BY NATIONAL JOURNAL GROUP, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Snow Can’t Stop Johnson’s Swearing In

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By Alyssa Rosenberg Tuesday, February 9, 2010 6:15 PM

By Robert Brodsky

After 10 months of waiting to be confirmed as GSA administrator, Martha Johnson wasn’t about to let a little snowstorm to stop her from taking the oath of office.

On Sunday evening, Johnson was sworn into office–by telephone–at her home in Annapolis, Md. The oath was performed by Acting Administrator Steve Leeds and Johnson’s husband, Steve, reportedly served as a witness.

Johnson was confirmed as the agency’s first permanent and Senate-confirmed administrator on Thursday after enduring a long hold by Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo.

(C) 2010 BY NATIONAL JOURNAL GROUP, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Successful SBA programs expanded to increase working capital, help businesses refinance

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WASHINGTON – Today in Lanham, Maryland, President Obama proposed the expansion of two critical Small Business Administration (SBA) lending programs, aimed at allowing small businesses to refinance and increasing limits for working capital. These are both legislative proposals designed to help small

businesses through what continues to be a difficult period in credit markets.

President Obama said, “The true engine of job creation will always be businesses. What government can do is fuel that engine: by giving entrepreneurs and companies the support to open their doors, expand, and hire more workers. Today, we’re taking another step towards assisting small business owners get the capital they need to grow and hire.”

SBA Administrator Karen Mills said, “These proposals will provide us with two effective tools to help small businesses meet specific challenges brought

on by the recession. First, in the tight credit market of the last two years, lines of credits have been cut for small firms. Raising the limit on SBA Express loans to $1 million will mean more small business owners will have quicker access to this source of capital to help restock inventories and support larger revenue sales, and literally take that next step to grow their business and create new jobs. Second, thousands of good, creditworthy businesses find themselves caught by declining real estate values as a result of this recession. With many of them now facing mortgages coming due in the next few years, the ability to refinance into SBA’s 504 loan will give them the chance to lock in long-term, stable financing, as well as protect jobs by protecting small businesses from foreclosure.”

Details of the President’s new small business initiatives are below:

1. Expand SBA’s existing program to temporarily support refinancing for owner-occupied commercial real estate loans:

The Administration is proposing legislation to temporarily allow for the refinancing of owner-occupied commercial real estate (CRE) loans under the SBA’s 504 program, which provides guarantees on loans for the development of real estate and other fixed assets.  Currently, 504 loans cannot be used for the refinancing of maturing debt.  This change would respond to the difficulties many current, solvent borrowers face in refinancing existing commercial real estate loans.

Businesses with a loan maturing in the next year who are current on all loan payments will be eligible. Lenders that are refinancing mortgages for existing customers will make a loan for up to 70 percent of the current property value; and SBA will help finance the remaining 20 percent.  For new lenders taking on a refinancing project, SBA will take on a greater share of financing, up to 40 percent. SBA’s proposal for a temporary, zero-subsidy CRE refinancing program would be funded through additional fees for refinancing projects, not through a Congressional appropriation. This proposal will help refinance up to $18.7 billion each year in commercial real estate that might otherwise be foreclosed and liquidated.

2. Temporarily increase the cap on SBA Express loans from $350,000 to $1 million:

The President is proposing to temporarily increase the maximum SBA Express loan size to $1 million, which would expand the program’s ability to help a broad range of small businesses through a streamlined approval process.  Unlike traditional 7(a) loans, lenders can use their own paperwork for SBA Express loans, which can be structured as revolving lines of credit.  Currently, these Express loans are capped at $350,000 and carry a 50 percent guarantee. Fees would cover virtually all of the added costs of this proposal.

These proposals complement the President’s broader small business agenda – a key part of his overall jobs plan. The other elements of the small business agenda include:

.  Extending small business expensing and bonus depreciation for 2010. Eliminating capital gains taxes for small businesses in 2010.

.  A Small Business Jobs and Wages Tax Credit that would cut taxes for more than 1 million small businesses by paying up to $5,000 for every net new job and covers payroll taxes on overall wage increases in excess of inflation.

.  A proposal to transfer, through legislation, $30 billion to a new Small Business Lending Fund that will support lending by community and smaller banks.

.  Additional SBA lending proposals, including an extension of the Recovery Act programs that eliminate fees and raise guarantees on SBA’s two largest loan programs and permanent increases in the maximum loan sizes for major SBA programs.

##

Editor’s Note: AN SBA Fact Sheet on these proposals is available at: http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/sba_rcvry_factsheet_cre_refi.pdf


Senate confirms Johnson as GSA administrator

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Martha Johnson’s stay in bureaucratic purgatory has ended.

More than 10 months after she was nominated to serve as head of the General Services Administration, Johnson finally was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday afternoon.

The Senate had to vote to invoke cloture — essentially a motion to end debate — to break a hold on Johnson’s nomination placed by Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo. Once cloture was invoked, the Senate voted again and confirmed Johnson, 94-2.

A former chief of staff at GSA during the Clinton administration, Johnson will be the agency’s first Senate-confirmed chief since Lurita A. Doan resigned in April 2008. Since then, the agency has had four acting administrators, including its current interim chief, Stephen Leeds.

“As administrator, I will leverage the agency’s strong leadership to build a team that welcomes talent, exhibits performance excellence, collaborates, and innovates; a team that through knowledge, expertise, and transparency, will reform procurement and help move the president’s agenda for improvements in the professional acquisition workforce, Johnson said in a statement released by GSA after the vote.”

Johnson was nominated for the post on April 3, 2009, and she cruised through her June confirmation hearing, receiving unanimous support from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

But in August, Bond blocked the Senate from voting on Johnson’s nomination. He wanted GSA to close down the federally owned Bannister Complex outside Kansas City, which houses 1,200 federal employees, and to relocate staff to new office space downtown as part of a major revitalization project. GSA, however, plans to build and then own new office space in the region.

On the floor of the Senate on Thursday, Bond defended the hold and castigated GSA for failing to move quickly to close the Bannister Complex. He cited the building’s “dilapidated” physical condition, potential health risks due to reports of chemical contamination and its low 20 percent occupancy rate.

“My efforts here are about keeping 1,000 jobs in Kansas City and not about blocking one job in Washington,” Bond said.

The senator said he felt “no joy” in holding up Johnson’s nomination and conceded that her “qualifications are not in doubt.”

On Wednesday, President Obama jumped into the fray, arguing that the hold on Johnson’s nomination was preventing the administration from implementing policies that would cut waste from the budget. In particular, Obama said GSA could be saving billions of dollars by ending or renegotiating costly lease agreements or consolidating buildings and efficiencies.

“Let’s have a fight about real stuff,” Obama said at a meeting with Senate Democrats. “Don’t hold this woman hostage. If you have an objection about my health care policies, then let’s debate the health care policies. But don’t suddenly end up having a GSA administrator who is stuck in limbo somewhere because you don’t like something else that we’re doing, because that doesn’t serve the American people.”

Bond’s office fired back at the president on Thursday. “With all due respect, the hostage here is not Martha Johnson,” he said. “They are the 1,000 workers at Banister Complex in Kansas City.”

The Senate on Thursday also voted 60-37 to confirm M. Patricia Smith to serve as solicitor of the Labor Department, the No. 3 position at the agency.

Some agencies could see staff gains in 2011

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President Obama’s budget proposal forecasts a dip in the overall size of the federal workforce in fiscal 2011, but employee advocates remain optimistic about pockets of potential growth.

The Obama administration estimated that the federal workforce would lose 42,600 employees between 2010 and 2011, falling from 2.15 million to 2.11 million. Even with that decline, the workforce would be substantially larger than it was in 2007, when the government employed 1.83 million civilians.

One big source of the next year’s decrease is the Commerce Department, which would go from 141,500 full-time employees to 43,600 as the 2010 census wraps up. The Agriculture and Interior departments, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Railroad Retirement Board also are slated for small staff cuts.

Despite the downward trend, Obama’s budget would allow some agencies to bolster their workforces.

The Pentagon would experience the most growth, seeing its civilian staff rise from 720,200 in 2010 to 757,500 in 2011, driven in part by the administration’s decision to insource 19,800 civilian jobs.

The Homeland Security Department would receive the second-largest staff boost of the Cabinet-level departments, going from 177,000 employees in 2010 to 183,500 in 2011. Included in the increase would be 2,000 additional Transportation Security Administration officers and an unspecified number of new Customs and Border Protection personnel. Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents TSA and CBP employees, said the 2011 staffing levels would “reflect the reality of today’s dangerous world, and are wise investments in our nation’s security.”

The Justice Department stands to gain 5,700 positions from 2010 to 2011, going from 119,300 to 125,000 employees. Much of that increase would benefit the FBI, which would see its staffing rise by 1,331, from 31,578 employees in 2010 to 32,909 in 2011. The number of employees in the U.S. Marshals Service and legal staff also would grow.

Additionally, the budget would provide for more workers in federal prisons. “The imminent threat that understaffing has posed to federal correctional officers, prisoners and the communities that surround the prisons has become a dangerous matter of life or death,” said John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which has been campaigning for more staffing and more rigorous security measures in federal prisons. “Proper staffing will help alleviate the dire situation.”

AFGE also praised modest proposed staffing increases at the Veterans Affairs Department, where the workforce would rise from 284,300 in 2010 to 287,700 in 2011 under Obama’s request.

The only other department slated to gain more than 1,000 employees in 2011 is Health and Human Services, where staffing levels are set to rise from 65,100 to 68,000. The majority of that increase will come from a spike in hiring at the Food and Drug Administration.

But even a small increase in staff would be welcome at some agencies. Gabrielle Martin, president of the National Council of EEOC Locals, said she hopes an $18 million hike in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s fiscal 2011 budget would help reverse a 25 percent decline in the agency’s workforce during the past decade.

“EEOC finally admitted that doing more with less has hurt operations,” Martin said. “It is imperative that EEOC use the increase to hire and train an adequate number of front-line staff who directly serve the public…This does not mean using federal sector pilots to reduce the number of front-line hearing judges.”

And even in agencies that suffered high-profile program cuts, such as NASA, where Obama proposed eliminating efforts to return explorers to the moon, employee groups saw some reason to hope. The administration’s fiscal 2011 budget set a goal for 2010 of converting 60 percent of students working for NASA into full-time employees after they earn their degrees. Gregory Junemann, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, said his union “looks forward to working with the Obama administration and Congress on … fostering the creation of new high-quality aerospace jobs for young Americans.”

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