The Office of Management and Budget released the final year 2000 Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act inventory list Friday. Included in the roughly 1.7 million federal positions listed are more than 2,300 positions at the U.S. Military Academy. USMA Directorate of Resource Management officials said that there are more than just academy jobs listed on the inventory.

"The list does not distinguish between academy positions and those in the hospital and school systems at West Point," they said.

More than 400 of the 2,300 USMA positions are designated exempt, either by agency decision or legislation. That means those positions should not be contracted out, DRM officials explained.

"That exemption does not apply to the functions containing the positions," officials said. "The entire function could be studied through the A-76 process and exempt positions eliminated through the formulation of the most efficient organization."

Once the list is released, all "interested parties" -- to include federal employees working within a function on the list, federal labor unions and contractors -- have 30 working days to submit challenges to the inclusion or exclusion of any function. Information on challenge procedures can be found at the Army FAIR Web site at http://gravity.lmi.org/DODFAIR.

Wayne Hughes, the legislative representative for West Point’s Chapter 162 of the Federal Managers Association, said challenging the list will not be an easy task because this year’s list is even more confusing than last year’s.

"There was absolutely nothing corrected before the release of this year’s inventory list," Hughes said. "There were numerous complaints last year about the way functions were coded and how one function was listed as part of more than one code.

"This year’s list, with entries for both 1999 and 2000, makes it even more impossible to determine whether your position is even on the list, let alone whether you should submit a challenge," he said.

Hughes said FMA is advising its members to challenge all inclusions on the inventory.

"If you can’t tell whether your job is on the list, challenge whatever coding you think might represent your function," he said. "That way you’re covered."

The Federal Managers Association has made government "rightsizing" its top priority for this year’s FMA National Convention in Washington, D.C., and, Hughes said, West Point chapter members hope to address outsourcing issues with local congressional members during the convention. Outsourcing issues are also a top priority for federal employee unions.

"We understand that jobs listed on the inventory will not necessarily be contracted out," AFGE officials said. "However, we are concerned that functions we feel should be designated as ‘inherently governmental’ are on the list at all."

Union officials said they don’t want the inventory list to "serve as a starting point" for installations.

"We don’t want agencies to use this list as a reference to what jobs they may contract out in the future," they added.

West Point’s AFGE Chapter 2367 president, Don Hale, said the union has information about challenge procedures.

"The union stands ready to assist our bargaining unit members in submitting challenges to this list," Hale said.

FMA members who wish more information on challenging the inventory list can call 938-3883. AFGE bargaining unit members should contact their union shop stewards or call 938-2367. For any other questions or concerns, call the Commercial Activity Hotline at 938-8702.