WASHINGTON, April 19 (UPI) -- The president of a union representing employees at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told a Senate committee Thursday that morale is low.
Colleen Kelley, head of the National Treasury Employees Union, said the situation is so bad it is affecting the nation's security.
"This problem demands the immediate attention not only of DHS, but of Congress and the American people as well," she told the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Management, Integration and Oversight.
Kelley said she favors a bill that would repeal personnel rules that limit employees' rights. Parts of the rules have been thrown out by the courts.
"In seeking to implement regressive personnel rules and in failing to respect employees and listen to their voices, DHS runs the very serious risk of not being competitive with other federal agencies and the private sector in attracting and retaining the high-quality employees it needs in a variety of specialties, including law enforcement," she said.
