House votes for Defense personnel overhaul By Shawn Zeller szeller@govexec.com Legislation granting Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authority to set up new rules governing hiring, pay and promotions of civilian employees cleared a major hurdle on Friday when House legislators passed the fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill. The Senate is expected to follow suit next week. With the Homeland Security Department also set to put in place a new personnel system, the authorization bill's approval leaves less than a quarter of government workers under the current civil service system, and more agencies are expected to request new personnel flexibilities shortly....