on 7/31/03 6:59 AM, David Harvey at [log in to unmask] wrote:

> Actually this is old news - the House voted down the effort to cut the Park
> Service archaeology centers and staffs.
> 
> The following is an update on the NPS archaeology situation. The article was
> copied from the online Archaeology Magazine web site.
> 
> Cheers!
> Dave
> ____________________________________
>  ONLINE NEWS    July 23, 2003
> 
> NPS OUTSOURCING DECLARED STUPID
> 
> 
> In a victory for National Park Service archaeologists, the House of
> Representatives blocked the Bush administration's "competitive sourcing"
> initiative, 
> which would have cost the government archaeologists their jobs, and the NPS
> experienced employees. Under the initiative, jobs at federal agencies are
> examined, and any position not found to be "inherently governmental" is marked
> for 
> outsourcing to the private sector. The initiative's goal is to ensure that
> jobs 
> are carried out in the most cost-efficient and effective manner, ultimately to
> benefit the taxpayer. The National Park Service, under the Department of the
> Interior, has recently been subjected to these competitive sourcing studies.
> The initiative targeted archaeologists at the Midwest Archeological Center in
> Lincoln, Nebraska, and the Southeast Archeological Center in Tallahassee,
> Florida, for outsourcing. But on July 17, the House of Representatives voted
> 362 to 
> 57 to preserve language in the fiscal year 2004 Interior Appropriations bill
> that exempts NPS archaeologists from competitive sourcing studies. The
> amendment was a bipartisan effort sponsored by Rep. Doug Bereuter (R-Neb) and
> Rep. 
> Allen Boyd Jr. (D-Fla), each representing districts that are home to the
> archaeological centers.
> 
> Critics of privatization claim that employees of the NPS have already learned
> to work efficiently through tight budgets. In a July 15 Washington Post
> report, the superintendent of the Southeast Archeological Center, John E.
> Ehrenhard, said that the centers "have been so underfunded and so understaffed
> for so 
> long, that we've had to learn to be efficient. This whole idea is almost
> laughable, and it's an insult." Privatization, say the critics, would simply
> bring 
> archaeologists with less experience and less knowledge to run the parks. In
> the 
> same Washington Post report, Doug Scott of the Midwest Archeological Center
> called the threat of privatization "a bitter pill." Last September, Scott was
> awarded the Department of the Interior's highest decoration, and "two weeks
> later our outsourcing study begins and they're asking, 'Are you really
> necessary?'" In the past, the Midwest Archeological Center has conducted a
> range of 
> projects--from investigating the Little Big Horn battlefield (under Scott's
> direction), to exploring a Hopewell mound, to teaching students the value of
> history 
> and archaeology.
> 
>    The decision by the House will allow archaeologists with the highest level
> of expertise and knowledge of the parks to continue to run the wide variety
> of programs that they undertake, as well as care for the thousands of sites
> studied and maintained by NPS archaeologists. "Here you have people doing an
> outstanding job, and all of a sudden you have bean counters trying to close
> them 
> down," said Bereuter in a July 19 Washington Post article. "I've never used
> the 
> word 'stupid' on the House floor before, but this was stupid."--ALYSSA FISHER
> 
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
> 
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/
> . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a
> one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the
> message should read "help" (without the quotes).
> 
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
> [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
> Museum-L" (without the quotes).



Thank you for this update..... As one who loves the field of archaeology,it
made my outlook for the day much better!!!

And BRAVO!

We all need more victories like this one!!

Don Blake
Northwest Presentation

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).