Friday, April 16, 2004 Van Hollen Pleased with Pentagon’s Decision to Slow Implementation of New Personnel System Washington, D.C. - The United States House of Representatives Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) expressed satisfaction with the Defense Department’s decision to take a more measured approach in the implementation of its new pay and personnel system for civil service workers.  Navy Secretary Gordon England announced that the plan will be rolled out in stages, with time for evaluation by experts and feedback from employees between the phases.  Representative Van Hollen has been very critical of certain aspects of the Pentagon’s new personnel system.  Last month, he sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, co-signed by 140 Members of Congress, expressing concern about the Department’s proposed labor relations system that was distributed to Congressional staff.  A copy of the letter is attached.