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Welcome to the NASHTU website

 

The National Association of State Highway and Transportation Unions (NASHTU) is dedicated to ensuring that federal transportation dollars are spent on cost-effective, safe projects that serve the public interest.  NASHTU is comprised of 38 unions and associations representing hundreds of thousands of state and locally employed transportation engineers, construction managers and inspectors, technical workers and related public servants from throughout the United States.

 

 

 

NASHTU 13th Annual Conference

 

The National Association of State and Highway Transportation Unions (NASHTU) and the work of NASHTU affiliates matters — now more than ever. 


As this is written, state and local transportation department employees are under attack in Washington, D.C. House Republicans inserted into their version of the 2012 Surface Transportation Authorization a mandate to outsource all state transportation engineering and design services. Another provision in the House bill seeks to force the outsourcing of mapping and surveying work. As if these proposals were not enough, yet another amendment would require DOTs “to utilize, to the maximum extent practicable, commercial enterprises for the delivery of commercially available goods and services.” That’s right, some House Republicans are proposing the sweeping outsourcing of all transportation goods and services.

 

NASHTU is fighting back – hard. Working with affiliates in Washington and throughout the country, we’ve lobbied the House to remove the ridiculous outsourcing mandates that threaten the work of tens of thousands of public servants in every state in the country. And we’ve, successfully to date, strongly urged the U.S. Senate to reject these efforts. NASHTU has also worked with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and other transportation stakeholders to build broad opposition to these proposals. 

 

Register for the NASHTU

Conference Here!


A federal mandate to outsource transportation services has the potential to waste billions of federal dollars on non-competitively bid contracts throughout the United States. This money would be far better spent on the actual construction of highways, bridges, and other critically needed transportation infrastructure. 


The results of these outsourcing proposals are unclear at this time. Also uncertain, are the prospects of the House and Senate agreeing to a meaningful transportation bill to fund state and local transportation departments at current levels, much less at levels to meet our country’s great transportation infrastructure needs.

 

What is known is the importance of NASHTU — a national association of unions and associations dedicated to protecting the interests of transportation department employees and ensuring that federal transportation dollars are spent efficiently and cost-effectively. 

 

Please join us at our Thirteenth National Conference.  NASHTU and the NASHTU Conference have never been more important. 

 

Please call 916-446-0584 or email nashtu@nashtu.us if you have any questions.

 

 

News Stories

 

 

 

 

OMB Cracks Down on Wasteful Outsourcing

 

February 4, 2011

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released a status report on their efforts to curb wasteful government contracting.  In FY 2010, federal agencies spent nearly $80 billion less than they would have if contract spending continued to grow at the same rate it had under the prior Administration.  NASHTU applauds the Obama Administration’s success in contracting reform for federal agencies, but to make government spending even more efficient, these efforts should be expanded to target federally-funded programs as well. 

 

June 14, 2010

Read Representative Judy Chu’s (D-CA) letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) asking that the federal contracting reforms be expanded to apply to all state and local projects that use federal funds. 

 

March 31, 2010

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) released its draft policy letter defining inherently governmental functions that should be performed only by government employees.  Read the Federal Register Notice

 

 

October 27, 2009

WASHINGTON, October 27 – In an attempt to crack down on mismanaged and wasteful federal contracting practices while strengthening oversight and accountability capacity across the government, the Obama Administration has issued guidance today that requires federal agencies to increase the capability and capacity of the civilian agency acquisition workforce to ensure sufficient management and oversight of acquisition dollars.

 

The guidance also provides specific instructions for agencies to avoid high-risk contracts that can result in excessive costs being passed on to taxpayers.

 

July 29, 2009

WASHINGTON, July 29 — President Obama in conjunction with the OMB formally unveiled contracting and workforce reforms that are designed to save the taxpayers at least $40 billion a year. The reforms, released today, focuses on three areas: improving acquisition, managing the multi-sector workforce, and contractor performance information.

 

"Today’s guidance is a major step forward in providing the federal government with the capacity to carry out robust and thorough management and oversight of its contracts in order to achieve programmatic goals, avoid significant overcharges, and stop wasteful spending," said OMB Director Peter Orszag.

 

 

 

March 4, 2009

WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday the U.S. government was paying too much for things it did not need and ordered a crackdown on spending he declared "plagued by massive cost overruns and outright fraud."

 

The Democrat, under fire from Republicans for the $3.5 trillion price tag for his 2010 budget plan, also took aim at predecessor George W. Bush and noted the cost of government contracts had doubled to more than half a trillion dollars over the past eight years. 

 

Click here to read the Presidential Memorandum