August 25, 2008 - The largest union representing federal workers is objecting to a plan by the Department of Veterans Affairs to outsource the processing of GI Bill education benefits. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 600,000 workers, said the plan will deny veterans the expertise of government employees and possibly lead to lost jobs at the VA.

Alma Lee, president of AFGE’s National Veterans Affairs Council, said, “Retaining the experienced federal workers currently in the Education Division would be a far more effective approach to ensuring the veterans receive their valuable GI benefits in a timely and accurate manner.”

VA Secretary James Peake has said outsourcing will help the VA in the demanding task of making the program operational in time for the Aug. 1, 2009 launch deadline. But the union says the VA is outsoucing what is inherently a government function. In addition, it says the VA is already doing similar work and so has no need to outsource.