The 2010 defense authorization bill intends to repeal the National Security Personnel System. Lawmakers, like the American Federation of Government Employees, obviously did not agree with a recent recommendation by a Pentagon task force that suggested the NSPS could be saved with a major overhaul. The defense policy bill, just passed by the House and awaiting a Senate vote, would direct DOD to transition all employees already shifted to NSPS back into the General Schedule system within about two years. According to the conference report summary, DOD would have “flexibilities to reform the DOD hiring process and establish a performance management system.”
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.