(This model letter is suggested as follow up to a
sit-down meeting you have with your rep’s)
(Date)
The Honorable
United States Senate/ Congress
Washington, D.C. 20510
Via Facsimile: 202-
Dear (Senator/ Congressman/ Congresswoman or name of staffer you met with):
Thank you for taking the time to speak with members of the National Council of EEOC Locals 216's during our February ____, 2004, visit to your office. I am following up to urge you to make sure Chair Cari Dominguez answers some tough questions about the Agency’s $5 million request for “Workforce Repositioning,” when she testifies at EEOC’s CJS House Appropriations Oversight Hearing, scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on March 26, 2004, H-309 Capitol. Appropriating funds for this request, contained in the EEOC’s “FY 2005 Performance Budget,” will threaten the EEOC’s civil rights enforcement mission.
Specifically, the request encompasses funds for a National Contact Center, which will entrust the rights of your constituents to scripted “telemarketers.” The Agency admits that its plans “weren’t focused on how much money we save from this process.” This funding would be better spent on hiring permanent employees, internal staff development and technology improvements.
The Agency’s repositioning request is also intended to pay for “office relocation costs,” “staffing adjustments,” and “office adjustments.” Moreover, an internal EEOC taskforce is presently recommending reducing the number of EEOC’s field offices. Chair Dominguez needs to provide answers on whether she is planning to close or gut the offices that serve your constituents.
Finally, the Agency’s repositioning request is intended to “implement management decisions” resulting from the February 2003 National Academy of Public Administration's (NAPA) report. This report has been roundly criticized by stakeholders, EEOC managers and the Union, as well as the Senate’s CJS appropriation’s committee, which said of NAPA’s study: “the Committee has concerns about the impact this restructuring will have on the quality of service to the States.”
We need your assistance in stripping EEOC’s $5 million “repositioning” request from its FY 05 budget. Alternatively, the repositioning request should be itemized by project and subjected to additional oversight hearings. Please contact me at (phone number) if you have any questions or would like additional details.
Sincerely,