Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) sent a letter to White House Office of Management and Budget Director Jeffrey Zients asking the White House to consider stopping hiring in lower priority job vacancies that are currently open.
Coburn sent the letter to counter White House warnings about cuts that would have to be made to critical positions under sequestration.
Coburn said, “At the same time the administration is warning sequestration could force laying off or furloughing U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, Defense civilian employees, or food safety inspectors, the federal government is also soliciting applicants for numerous lower priority jobs. Not filling the jobs advertised in just these ten vacancy announcements could save as much as $1.4 million that could be directed towards more essential jobs being targeted for sequestration savings.”
Coburn provided a list of the jobs he was referring to:
- Staff assistant at the Department of Labor to answer phones
- Ten drivers for the State Department
- A policy coordinator for DHHS
- Director for the Air Force History and Museums Policies and Programs to provide guidance of historical matters throughout the Air Force
- Analyst at the Legislative Affairs Office of the Marine Corps to provide representation to Capitol Hill
- Director for the Government Employee Services Division of the Department of Agriculture to improve services to federal employees
- Counsel for the Morris K. Udall Scholarship Foundation
- Executive assistant at the Department of Agriculture Forest Service to prepare itineraries and briefing and information material packages
- Executive Staff Officer for the Air Force to represent the Director of Staff at meetings, write draft reports, memos, and emails for the Director, and prepare responses to correspondence, emails and requests for information
