[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 115 (Tuesday, August 16, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 16, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
     CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SERVICES PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE ACT

  Mr. McCLOSKEY. Mr. Speaker I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill H.R. 4884, to authorize noncompetitive, career or career-
conditional appointments for employees of the Criminal Justice 
Information Services of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who do not 
relocate to Clarksburg, WV, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4884

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Criminal Justice Information 
     Services Placement Assistance Act''.

     SEC. 2. NONCOMPETITIVE CAREER OR CAREER-CONDITIONAL 
                   APPOINTMENTS FOR NONRELOCATING EMPLOYEES OF THE 
                   CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SERVICES OF THE 
                   FBI.

       (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (c), an 
     individual described in subsection (b) may be appointed 
     noncompetitively, under a career or career-conditional 
     appointment, to a position in the competitive service if--
       (1) the individual meets the qualification requirements 
     prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management for the 
     position to which appointed;
       (2) the last previous Federal employment of the individual 
     was as an employee of the Criminal Justice Information 
     Services Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
       (3) the individual is appointed to such position within two 
     years after separating from the Criminal Justice Information 
     Services Division.
       (b) Individual Described.--An individual described in this 
     subsection is an individual who--
       (1) on the date of the enactment of this Act--
       (A) is an employee of the Criminal Justice Information 
     Services Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
       (B) is serving in an appointed position (i) to be relocated 
     from Washington, District of Columbia, to Clarksburg, West 
     Virginia, and (ii) that is excepted by law or regulation from 
     the competitive service; and
       (2) has not relocated with his or her position in the 
     Criminal Justice Information Services Division to Clarksburg, 
     West Virginia.
       (c) Application.--This section does not apply to an 
     individual serving on the date of the enactment of this Act 
     in an appointed position on a temporary or term basis.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Indiana [Mr. McCloskey] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the 
gentlewoman from Maryland [Mrs. Morella] will be recognized for 20 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. McCloskey].
  Mr. McCLOSKEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4884, as amended, which would 
grant competitive status to certain FBI employees. I want to commend my 
esteemed colleague, Eleanor Holmes Norton, chair of the Subcommittee on 
Compensation and Employee Benefits for her hard work and leadership on 
this bill.
  Due to disturbing trends which occurred in the Identification 
Division [ID] during the eighties, in 1989 the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation embarked on a plan to revitalize the Identification 
Division. In addition, a feasibility study was conducted on relocating 
the ID to address the attrition and hiring problems. In 1990, the 
Bureau identified a location in Clarksburg, WV, as the most feasible 
site to relocate the Identification Division.
  Approximately 1,200 employees have been identified that do not wish 
to relocate to the new location in Clarksburg. Although the Bureau has 
been taking assertive steps to assist these employees in finding other 
jobs within the Bureau, an abysmal attrition rate, tight budgets, and 
the continued restructuring and downsizing of the Federal Government 
has led to problems in finding alternative employment. If further 
assistance is not provided, these 1,200 employees will be RIF'd by the 
end of fiscal year 1996.
  However, all FBI employees are hired under the excepted service and 
do not have the ability to compete for jobs in the competitive service. 
Therefore, these employees cannot automatically apply for other Federal 
jobs.
  This bill would authorize noncompetitive, career, or career 
conditional appointments in the competitive service for employees of 
the Criminal Justice Information Services who do not wish to relocate.
  H.R. 4884, as amended by the Post Office and Civil Service Committee, 
requires that each individual must meet the qualification requirements 
prescribed by Office of Personnel Management [OPM] for the position to 
which appointed. This authority would expire 2 years after the employee 
has been separated from employment with the FBI. OPM recommended 
replacing the September 30, 1999, deadline that was in the original 
Norton bill with a provision that the special appointment authority 
will expire 2 years from the date the employee is separated from the 
FBI. This would ensure that each employee have ample time to find a job 
in the competitive service.

  The only other change that was made in committee is language 
clarifying that only permanent employees would be eligible for 
noncompetitive appointments. This change was also recommended by OPM.
  I am interested in ensuring that the Bureau has every avenue 
available to assist its employees in finding other employment, and I 
urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Again, I want to commend Representative Norton for her leadership and 
concern in this area.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4884, which was introduced by 
the chair of the Subcommittee on Compensation and Employee Benefits, 
the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia. As a cosponsor of the 
measure, I commend the gentlewoman for her unwavering support for 
Federal employees and her tenacity in bringing this measure to the 
floor.
  I also commend the chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Service, Mr. 
McCloskey of Indiana, the chairman of the Committee on Post Office and 
Civil Service, Mr. Clay of Missouri, and the ranking member, Mr. Myers 
of Indiana, for expediting passage of the legislation through the 
committee process.
  The Committee on Post Office and Civil Service passed H.R. 4884 as 
amended on August 10. This measure grants competitive service to 
permanent employees of the Criminal Justice Information Services 
[CJIS], a division within the Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] 
which is being relocated from Washington to Clarksburg, WV. Presently, 
all employees of the FBI are employed under the expected service 
positions, because of the nature of their work.
  The FBI plans to move the CJIS to West Virginia by 1999. There are 
many CJIS employees who cannot, or would opt not to, make the move. 
They would prefer to stay in the area and try to obtain workin the 
public or private sector. However, for these employees their years as 
excepted service employees would not transfer into the competitive 
service. This would affect them significantly if they were to apply for 
competitive service--it would not give them status. Many Federal jobs 
require status as a Federal employee in the competitive service to be 
considered for the position.
  When this move was first contemplated, the gentlewoman from the 
District of Columbia got assurance from then-Director of the FBI, Mr. 
William Sessions, that these employees would be considered for jobs 
within the FBI. When Director Freeh took the helm at the FBI, there was 
concern that those promises could be rescinded because of changed 
circumstances, such as the austere budget conditions, low attrition 
rates resulting in nonavailability of jobs.
  There has, additionally, been a downsizing within the FBI, rendering 
it difficult for all the 1,200 CJIS employees who decided to not 
relocate to West Virginia to be reemployed at their skill level within 
the Bureau. Though the Director gave assurance that he would seek to 
place these employees in vacancies which may occur in the FBI and that 
he would also provide training for them to increase their job skills to 
enter other jobs, he also sought legislative measures to assist in 
further placement of the CJIS employees. H.R. 4848 is a result of these 
concerns.
  The measure before us, Mr. Speaker, provides the CJIS employees 
presently serving in a permanent position an opportunity to reenter 
Federal service noncompetitively without losing any of their Federal 
benefits if the employee reenters Federal service within 2 years after 
separating from the Criminal Justice Information Service Division 
position.
  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that there would be no 
costs associated with this bill. During our subcommittee hearings, the 
Office of Personnel Management [OPM] and the FBI testified in support 
of the bill. I urge my colleagues to support this measure as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCLOSKEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia [Ms. Norton], the primary 
author of this bill.

                              {time}  1300

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I sincerely thank the chairman of the 
subcommittee, the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. McCloskey] for yielding 
me the time, and I thank him for much more.
  I thank him for the skill and the expeditious treatment with which he 
has approached this bill, and I thank the ranking member of my own 
subcommittee, the gentlewoman from Maryland [Mrs. Morella], who has 
been an invaluable Member on this and other matters affecting Federal 
employees and fairness not only to them but to the Government.
  I am grateful to the chair and the ranking member of the full 
committee as well for facilitating the rapid movement of this bill to 
the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, it is seldom that a bill we pass has an immediate effect 
upon individuals. More than 1,200 people who simply cannot pick up, 
pull their roots up and leave their homes throughout this region are 
affected. Many of these are women heads of household. Almost none of 
them are highly paid. They are, Mr. Speaker, the mirror image of civil 
servants in the Federal Government. Through no fault of their own, the 
FBI, the agency for which they work, is expected from the civil 
service. At a time when they cannot move their homes, they literally 
have no place in the Federal Government to go, even though many have 
had considerable years of service in the Federal Government. By no 
means do most of these employees live within my district. Ten 
congressional districts are involved. My district, the District of 
Columbia, is not where the highest number come from.
  This matter proceeds from a good-faith promise made by the former FBI 
Director, Director William Sessions, that he would find jobs for these 
employees in the FBI, a promise repeated before a congressional 
committee, and also a good-faith attempt on the part of his successor, 
Mr. Louis Freeh, to deliver on that promise.
  Our own Federal Government downsizing, however, has confounded even 
his aggressive placing of these employees in what positions do in fact 
become vacant. I commend him as well for the skills training he has 
offered these employees to increase their opportunities for employment. 
The fact is, Mr. Speaker, that Mr. Freeh himself has suggested to us 
that he needs the legislative help we are seeking to provide. The bill 
before us is the response of the Committee on Post Office and Civil 
Service to his request that in addition to his own efforts a bill be 
passed to help him fulfill his own promise and that of his predecessor.
  Mr. Speaker, what this bill would have the Federal Government do what 
most decent companies do, anyway. If by no fault of their own a number 
of employees have to be let go these days, companies pull out all stops 
and do all that is within their own power to find positions. That is 
what this bill and the Federal Government would be doing in this case.
  I remind Members that this bill does not involve a relocation of some 
of these employees to the suburbs or from the suburbs to the District 
of Columbia. Where they would be required to go is not a car ride away 
or a Metro ride away. For them the move might just as well be to 
California as to West Virginia.
  I am pleased at the cooperation we have had from the other body as 
well. This bill will indeed find employment in the Federal Government. 
At the very least, they deserve an even chance. This bill grants them 
that even chance.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank all who have been involved, especially the 
subcommittee chair, for facilitating the opportunity for that even 
chance.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to express my sincere thanks to my good friend, 
Congressman Frank McCloskey, chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil 
Service, for responding favorably and quickly to my request to take 
action on H.R. 4884, the Criminal Justice Information Services 
Placement Assistance Act. FBI employees are excepted from the 
competitive service by law. As a result, their years with the 
Government count for nothing when they seek consideration for 
competitive service positions at other agencies. H.R. 4884 would 
authorize noncompetitive career or career-conditional appointments in 
the competitive service for employees of the FBI's Criminal Justice 
Information Services Division [CJIS].
  The CJIS Division is being relocated to Clarksburg, WV over the next 
4 years. However, over half of its employees in this area either cannot 
or do not wish to move there. This bill would make it easier for these 
employees to find other jobs with the Federal Government in this area.
  In 1991, I contacted former FBI Director William Sessions and 
expressed my concern about the fate of the employees who could not 
relocate. Director Sessions promised me personally that these employees 
would be afforded other jobs with the FBI in this area at a comparable 
rate of pay. This promise was not made lightly, but as a matter of 
elementary fairness to the employees, especially those not highly 
salaried whose personal and family position made it impossible to move. 
It was a promise repeated by Director Sessions and Deputy Assistant 
Director Stanley Klein in testimony before the House Subcommittee on 
Civil and Constitutional Rights in 1991 and 1992.
  Last year, when it was first brought to my attention that Director 
Sessions was considering reneging on his commitment, thereby placing 
many employees at risk of losing their jobs, I immediately wrote him 
seeking assurance that his commitment still stood. Shortly thereafter, 
however, Director Sessions resigned and left his position without 
having replied. Once his successor, Director Louis Freeh, was in place, 
I wrote to him and sought assurance that Director Sessions' commitment 
would be honored. Director Freeh responded that due to the mandate to 
downsize and low attrition rates, it might not be possible for him to 
guarantee job security for Bureau employees, as promised by his 
predecessor.
  Earlier this year, the Director and I corresponded further over this 
matter. I pointed out to him that I was unconvinced that the Bureau's 
commitment could not be met by using early-out authority along with 
buyouts to create openings to meet the employment needs of the CJIS 
employees. I further indicated to him that the House Report on the 
Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary appropriations bill for fiscal 
year 1994 stated that the ``Committee expects the Director to make 
every effort to fulfill this pledge to employees.'' He in turn wrote me 
in February and advised that there were 1,200 CJIS Division employees 
who do not desire to relocate, and that if they could not be placed in 
other positions, would be involuntarily separated beginning in fiscal 
year 1996.
  Director Freeh indicated that he would aggressively seek to place 
these employees in vacancies occurring throughout the FBI, and offer 
skills enhancement training to increase their marketability. He is to 
be commended for these efforts. However, the Director also expressed an 
interest in pursuing further legislative remedies beyond buyouts and 
asked for my support in that regard. The CJIS Placement Assistance Act 
is our response.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe it would be unconscionable to permit the 
Bureau to step back from a commitment which was not only made 
personally to me, but to a Subcommittee of the House. But present 
circumstances have constrained the Bureau's ability to fulfill the 
pledge. It cannot do it alone. Assistance from the Congress is needed, 
and, with the enactment of H.R. 4884, CJIS employees will get the 
additional help they need to continue their careers competitively in 
the Federal service.
  Earlier this month, Chairman McCloskey held a hearing on H.R. 4884. 
Representatives from both the FBI and the Office of Personnel 
Management appeared and testified in strong support of this measure. 
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that the Congressional 
Budget Office has determined that H.R. 4884 is budget neutral. Again, I 
thank Chairman McCloskey for his prompt and very fair consideration of 
the needs of these employees. I urge the House to approve H.R. 4884.
  Mr. McCLOSKEY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Indiana [Mr. McCloskey] that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4884, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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