The Foreign Service Journal, February 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | FEBRUARY 2013 15 the DS assistant secretary and directly supply threat analysis to all DS com- ponents, regional assistant secretaries and chiefs of mission in order to get key security-related threat information into the right hands more rapidly. 23. The board recognizes that poor performance does not ordinarily con- stitute a breach of duty that would serve as a basis for disciplinary action, but is instead addressed through the perfor- mance management system. However, the board is of the view that findings of unsatisfactory leadership performance by senior officials in relation to the security incident under review should be a potential basis for discipline recommendations by future ARBs, and would recommend a revision of depart- ment regulations or amendment to the relevant statute to this end. 24. The board was humbled by the courage and integrity shown by those on the ground in Benghazi and Tripoli, in particular the DS agents and annex team who defended their colleagues; the Tripoli response team, which mobilized without hesitation; those in Benghazi and Tripoli who cared for the wounded; and the many U.S. government employees who served in Benghazi under difficult conditions in the months leading up to the Sept. 11-12, 2012, attacks. We trust that the department and relevant agencies will take the opportunity to recognize their exceptional valor and performance, which epitomized the highest ideals of government service. —Steven Alan Honley, Editor Spending on Federal Contracts W riting in the Dec. 6 Washington Post , Josh Hicks reports that the federal government reduced contract spending by $20 billion during Fiscal Year 2012, largely by increasing coor- dination between agencies. Defense accounted for most of the savings. Joe Jordan, administrator for the White House Office of Federal Procure- ment Policy, pledged that the cost- cutting effort would continue across the government: “It’s a collective effort to spend smarter and buy less.” The Obama administration hailed the 4-percent drop in contract spending as the largest single decline for a single budget cycle on record, and pointed out that total expenditures via federal con- tracts were 6 percent below the Fiscal Year 2009 level it inherited from Presi- dent George W. Bush. However, Hicks notes that while Uncle Sam’s spending on contracts grew every year during Bush’s tenure, the raw numbers never exceeded the heights reached during most of President Obama’s first term. Overall, contracts accounted for about 14 percent of all federal govern- ment spending last year, the lowest level since 2003. —Steven Alan Honley, Editor State: A Pretty Good Place to Work T he Partnership for Public Service, in collaboration with Deloitte Con- sulting Services, recently released its seventh annual survey of “Best Places to Work in the Federal Government.” The 2012 results are based on data collected by the Office of Personnel Management from 700,000 employees at 362 agencies. That total accounts for nearly a third of the total federal work force, making it the largest such survey ever conducted. With 68.2 percent of employees expressing job satisfaction (two per- centage points down from 2011), the Department of State ranked third on the large agencies list, behind NASA and the intelligence community. The Com- merce Department and Environmental Protection Agency rounded out the top five. Mid-size agencies were a new cat- egory this time, with 22 selected for the PPS survey. The U.S. Agency for Interna- tional Development came in 15th with a score of 58.8 percent (up a percentage point from 2011), while the Broadcast- ing Board of Governors came in last at 46.8 percent (down more than six per- centage points from the year before). Among small agencies, the Peace Corps ranked fourth with a score of 81.5 percent (up nearly three points from last year). As a whole, just 60.8 percent of federal government employees said they were satisfied with their jobs. That score, the lowest since PPS began reporting the rankings in 2003, reflects a drop of 3.2 percentage points from 2011. The survey indicates that workers’ perceptions of their leaders were key to their job satisfaction, as shown by significant drops in positive comments about agency management. Other factors leading to the overall decline in rankings include the federal pay freeze, constraints on opportunities for advancement and fewer rewards for good performance. Max Stier, president and chief executive of the Partnership for Public While Uncle Sam’s spending on contracts grew every year during Bush’s tenure, the raw numbers never exceeded the heights reached during most of President Obama’s first term.