Jeffrey Zients, the first federal chief performance office and management director-designate, told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday that if confirmed, he would support President Obama's call for a clearer definition of inherently governmental work. At the same time, Zients did not discredit the value of a multisector workforce in certain fields, including technology: "I think it's important that we have critical capabilities at each agency to do their work and maintain control over operations," he said. "There's some areas - technical areas, professional service areas - where it might be right to have a mix of federal workers and contractors."
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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