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Government

Federal Spending Bill To Bring Job Security To Arsenal Employees

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A bill that would benefit the Rock Island Arsenal has cleared a committee in the U.S. House. Last week, the House Armed Services Committee passed a defense spending bill which includes hiring and labor rate reforms.

Summary

The bill is called the National Defense Authorization Act. Illinois Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth introduced several amendments that would allow the arsenal to hire its own workers and make it more difficult to lay off "STEM" workers.

Sheila McCready of the American Federation of Government Employees union says the bill would provide arsenal employees a safety net and ensure them a share of next year's defense contracts.
 
The bill would also allow the arsenal to charge variable labor rates, which would make it more competitive with the private sector.
  
The bill is scheduled to go before the Senate later this month. 

I am currently a senior at Augustana College, majoring in Multimedia Journalism and Mass Communication with a minor in Creative Writing. I serve as the General Manager for WAUG.fm, Augustana's online student radio station and have worked as an intern and DJ at Studstill Media Group. I report on local news for WVIK and am honored and excited to be a part of the news team. I hope to pursue a career in radio broadcasting and an eventual master's degree in English or Communications.