Letters to the Editor

Questionable outsourcing

Apr 10, 2008 12:39 PM

To the Editor:

I was disturbed about the foreign consultant firm that was engaged by the Department of Education to evaluate schools. I noticed that the DOE authorized expenditures of $19,546 for non-U.S. citizens to obtain work visas.

I don’t understand how these personnel ever qualified for a work visa since a clear condition is that no qualified Americans are available. It would seem to me that there are many DOE employees who are U.S. citizens who could do this work.

It also seems to be mismanagement to spend $19 million on outside consultants when in-house staff could do the job at a fraction of the cost. Also, do these foreign workers understand our values, norms and customs?

In addition, it is morally repugnant to deny work to Americans when they or their families may have made significant sacrifice to this country. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Roy Sicular, IS 73, Queens