Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand along with Congressmen Maurice Hinchey and John Hall announced that a West Point study that was proven to be flawed and ineffective will be cancelled, preventing the loss of hundreds of federal jobs at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and saving taxpayers money. The study, referred to as an A-76 study, is currently used to compare the use of private versus public employees to ensure that the government does not waste taxpayers’ money. However, a series of congressional investigations by the Government Accountability Office have highlighted the significant flaws inherent in the current A-76 process suggesting that it neither conclusively saves money nor produces a more efficient output and puts federal employees at a disadvantage. For the past several months, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Congressmen Hinchey and Hall have been calling for the cancellation of the study to prevent the outsourcing of hundreds of jobs at West Point. The announcement today comes on the heels of the lawmakers’ push for legislation to cancel A-76 studies. Rep. Hinchey successfully inserted language in the House Defense Appropriations bill that would have cancelled the study. Schumer and Gillibrand have been working to include the provision in the final bill.
McHugh called Schumer this afternoon to inform him of his decision. A formal announcement is set to come out in the near future.
“Ding dong the witch is dead!” said Senator Schumer. “The A-76 process was obviously flawed and relying on its inaccurate data made no sense at all. During a time when we need to maintain as many jobs as possible, cancelling this study will preserve nearly 400 jobs at West Point and save taxpayers money.”
“This is great news for West Point and the Hudson Valley,” Senator Gillibrand said. “My top priority is keeping New York jobs and rebuilding our economy. Ending this flawed study is the right decision and will ensure these New Yorkers will continue to have the job they deserve and need.”
“Months of hard work paid off today as the Army finally abandoned a senseless plan to privatize hundreds of jobs at West Point,” Congressman Hinchey said. “More than 500 workers at West Point can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their jobs aren’t about to be outsourced to a private company in Georgia that would have either fired them or reduced their wages and benefits while keeping more profits for the company’s executives. Jobs at West Point and every other military installation across the country should not be privately held and I am hopeful that the Army’s announcement will bolster our efforts to pass legislation in the coming weeks that would cancel all other privatization efforts across the country.”
Congressman John Hall said, “This is fantastic news and I am incredibly pleased that Secretary McHugh is doing what is right for West Point, the Army, our community, and the taxpayers by keeping these jobs both local and in the government. Allowing the A76 study to go forward would have outsourced West Point’s jobs and cost taxpayers more money. The A76 study that led to the privatization of West Point jobs was inherently flawed, skewed, and discriminatory since its inception. Privatization reviews were commissioned by the Bush administration as part of an ideological effort to outsource government jobs to private companies.”
In addition, the NY Delegation is still moving forward with efforts to make sure that no additional jobs at West Point are outsourced.