Posted on 01/18/2017 6:35:45 PM PST by AndyJackson
When the Department of Energy was asked by the Agency Review Team to identify employees who work on climate change — one of the critical challenges of our time — our workforce rightly worried that the incoming team would judge them on ideology rather than merit.
When the House voted to bring back the Holman Rule — allowing Members of Congress to selectively target individual federal workers or departments — our workforce became vulnerable to judgment based on ideology. When possible federal hiring freezes are mentioned casually, our workforce is concerned about its capacity to support our critical responsibilities. And when vilifying civil servants becomes the norm, the ability to recruit talented workers will vanish. Instead of considering public service, our brightest minds will look elsewhere for a meaningful career.
The Federal Government can only effectively serve the American people when staffed by qualified and dedicated public servants. This is true at DOE, where I have served as the Deputy Secretary for the past two years, and across all departments and agencies. At DOE, civil servants, military service members, and contractors solve our nation’s toughest challenges and keep us safe. Yet it has become common to disparage this workforce — sometimes through rhetoric, but increasingly through actions. This trend is dangerous for our country.
The people of DOE do pioneering work that contributes to our national security, provides opportunities for entrepreneurs, ensures the safety, security, and effectiveness of our nuclear deterrent, keeps the power on in partnership with industry, and inspires young people to pursue STEM careers. These missions are critical to our success as a Nation, and we need talented people to take on these important responsibilities.
When I began my tenure at DOE, I made it a priority to visit all of our National Laboratories and nuclear security sites. I met the workers charged with unglamorous but essential jobs such as assembling and dismantling our nuclear weapons, cleaning up our Nation’s Cold War legacy to keep communities safe, generating technological solutions to counter cyber threats, and improving our energy systems to make them more resilient and efficient. These essential technical areas need an influx of young and talented workers.
To reinforce the federal talent pipeline we have to de-politicize the rhetoric about the federal workforce. There are many issues that unite us across partisan lines, including the need to respond to national security challenges with innovation and intellectual vigor. At DOE, I have worked with industry leaders and Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to provide the scientific analysis and technological capabilities that help our nation meet major challenges. Without a strong federal workforce, those valuable tools would be lost to us — to the benefit of our rivals.
We must also make changes that set this workforce up for success. It is aging, and we must develop a new generation of professionals to compensate for upcoming retirements. DOE and the broader federal government need to attract that new generation by managing an exciting mission space and embracing the values that make today’s workplaces successful, productive, and motivating. Young people entering the workforce want to be part of organizations that are inclusive and provide professional development opportunities. These are areas where we can do better.
Finally, the next Administration must be held accountable to make these changes. Secretary Moniz and I have endeavored to stand with our workforce in meaningful ways, including by updating our policy on scientific integrity just this last week to uphold the independence of the scientific process moving forward and last year launching a diversity and inclusion campaign to empower the people of DOE. My incoming colleagues who will lead DOE and the rest of the federal enterprise have a tremendous opportunity to build on these efforts, allay the fears engendered by this transition, improve recruitment and retention, and recognize the contributions of this remarkable workforce to our security and prosperity.
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall is Deputy Secretary of Energy.
“. . .launching a diversity and inclusion campaign to empower the people of DOE. . .”
There’s your problem right there bubba.
I have mainly been in the private sector. I have always known that my employment is at the whim of the owners. I have seen layoffs happen just to raise stock prices prior to a merger, or sometimes “just because” an Exec read something in a magazine and decided to try it.
I worked for a state one summer. It was an eye opening experience. I got chewed out for doing my job well and ahead of schedule.
Sorry. The real world hurts.
Federal leeches have earned nothing but my scorn.
Agreed wholeheartedly.
Damn Straight!!
Trump got my vote to slash and burn. I want to see lots of slashing and burning.
And he better slash...and he better burn...and any RINO that gets in his way needs to be dealt with severely.
ie dont drain our liberal swamp
Remember that old “Look for the Union label” commercial jingle? Time to rewrite it as “Look out for the DC bubble.”
They have it exactly backwards. The Federal employees should respect the taxpayers who pay their salaries.
We don’t need hundreds of porn watchers, those who don’t show up for months or years but still get paid, and the ideologues who work in the IRS and persecute conservatives. We want Pres. Trump to drain that swamp.
These people lack 20-20 vision.
1. 20 - number of trillions of dollars that the federal government owes as the “National Debt” and its now way over 100% of GDP - https://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/debt/current
2. 20 - percentage ceiling of GDP - the historical limit that has never been breached on federal revenues - https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFRGDA188S
Here is another “20” stat. It seems like federal outlays haven’t gone below 20% since Obama became President - https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYONGDA188S
Here is another stat. On top of outlays the federal government has to spend money on interest because our politicians the past 2+ decades have refused to balanace the budget.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYOIGDA188S
Just imagine what would happen if interest rates went back to normal or up to where they were in the 1980’s.
http://www.multpl.com/10-year-treasury-rate/table/by-year
These people lack 20-20 vision.
1. 20 - number of trillions of dollars that the federal government owes as the “National Debt” and its now way over 100% of GDP - https://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/debt/current
2. 20 - percentage ceiling of GDP - the historical limit that has never been breached on federal revenues - https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFRGDA188S
Here is another “20” stat. It seems like federal outlays haven’t gone below 20% since Obama became President - https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYONGDA188S
Here is another stat. On top of outlays the federal government has to spend money on interest because our politicians the past 2+ decades have refused to balanace the budget.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYOIGDA188S
Just imagine what would happen if interest rates went back to normal or up to where they were in the 1980’s.
http://www.multpl.com/10-year-treasury-rate/table/by-year
Ah, no.
Federal bureaucrats, in general, are subhuman excrement. The ones working at regulatory agencies are a plague on the nation, a greater threat to liberty of Americans than the Saudis, China, Iran, NK combined.
Recently, I believe that the number of those working in government surpassed those working in manufacturing. Terrible.
Agreed!
Yes. Agreed.
They will need retraining for the retail service industry where they are tens of thousands of host and barrista jobs waiting for them.
The new President is a businessman and likely understands the difference between “value-added” and “non-value-added” employees. The latter, a.k.a. “deadwood”, should be removed.
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall is Deputy Secretary of Energy and a BS artist.
FEDGOV employs hundreds of thousands of freeloaders who don’t do a goddamned thing and collect a huge paycheck for doing so.
The party is over Lizzie, go piss up a rope.
no more retirement for federal employees, folks want the end of their tax dollars to pay for benefits of others they can’t get and a country with all gmint workers ..I want the federal government to no longer have the right to raise funds, period, all states should have balanced budget ammendments and whatever is left over, the states can decide what they wish to give for federal programs..
military, protection of borders..basic functions designed by the founders..
agreed, we are barely in the war, slash and burn time..force all issues down their throat with Congress immediately..no mercy..the opposition will no longer show mercy, they will kill americans to get their way, they certainly already have
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