[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 3, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H4846-H4848]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE DIVERSITY ASSURANCE ACT
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 3774) to provide for greater diversity within, and
to improve policy direction and oversight of, the Senior Executive
Service, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3774
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 ``Senior Executive Service
Diversity Assurance Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) according to the Government Accountability Office--
(A) minorities made up 22.5 percent of the individuals
serving at the GS-15 and GS-14 levels and 15.8 percent of the
Senior Executive Service in 2007;
(B) women made up 34.3 percent of the individuals serving
at the GS-15 and GS-14 levels and 29.1 percent of the Senior
Executive Service in 2007; and
(C) although the number of career Senior Executive Service
members increased from 6,110 in 2,000 to 6,555 in 2007, the
representation of African-American men in the career Senior
Executive Service declined during that same period from 5.5
percent to 5.0 percent; and
(2) according to the Office of Personnel Management--
(A) black employees represented 6.1 percent of employees at
the Senior Pay levels and 17.8 percent of the permanent
Federal workforce compared to 10.1 percent in the civilian
labor force in 2007;
(B) Hispanic employees represented 4.0 percent of employees
at the Senior Pay levels and 7.8 percent of the permanent
Federal workforce compared to 13.3 percent of the civilian
labor force in 2007; and
(C) women represented 28.2 percent of employees at the
Senior Pay levels and 43.9 percent of the permanent Federal
workforce compared to 45.7 percent of the civilian labor
force in 2007.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act--
(1) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office
of Personnel Management;
(2) the term ``Senior Executive Service'' has the meaning
given such term by section 2101a of title 5, United States
Code;
(3) the terms ``agency'', ``career appointee'', and
``career reserved position'' have the meanings given them by
section 3132 of title 5, United States Code; and
(4) the term ``SES Resource Office'' means the Senior
Executive Service Resource Office, established under section
4.
SEC. 4. SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE RESOURCE OFFICE.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish
within the Office of Personnel Management an office to be
known as the Senior Executive Service Resource Office. The
mission of the SES Resource Office shall be--
(1) to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and
productivity of the Senior Executive Service through policy
formulation and oversight;
(2) to advance the professionalism of the Senior Executive
Service; and
(3) to ensure that, in seeking to achieve a Senior
Executive Service reflective of the Nation's diversity,
recruitment is from qualified individuals from appropriate
sources.
(b) Functions.--It shall be the function of the SES
Resource Office to make recommendations to the Director with
respect to regulations, and to provide guidance to agencies,
concerning the structure, management, and diverse composition
of the Senior Executive Service. In order to carry out the
purposes of this section, the SES Resource Office shall--
(1) take such actions as the SES Resource Office considers
necessary to manage and promote an efficient, elite, and
diverse corps of senior executives by--
(A) creating policies for the management and improvement of
the Senior Executive Service;
(B) providing oversight of the performance, structure, and
composition of the Senior Executive Service; and
(C) providing guidance and oversight to agencies in the
management of senior executives and candidates for the Senior
Executive Service;
(2) be responsible for the policy development, management,
and oversight of the Senior Executive Service pay system;
(3) develop standards for certification of each agency's
Senior Executive Service performance management system and
evaluate all agency applications for certification;
(4) be responsible for developing and monitoring programs
for the advancement and training of senior executives,
including the Senior Executive Service Federal Candidate
Development Program;
(5) provide oversight of, and guidance to, agency executive
resources boards;
(6) be responsible for the administration of the
qualifications review board;
(7) establish and maintain annual statistics (in a form
that renders them useful to appointing authorities and
candidates) on--
(A) the total number of career reserved positions at each
agency;
(B) the total number of vacant career reserved positions at
each agency;
(C) of the positions under subparagraph (B), the number for
which candidates are being sought;
(D) the number of individuals who have been certified in
accordance with section 3393(c) of title 5, United States
Code, and the composition of that group of individuals with
regard to race, ethnicity, sex, age, and individuals with
disabilities;
(E) the composition of the Senior Executive Service with
regard to race, ethnicity, sex, age, and individuals with
disabilities;
(F) the composition of executive resources boards with
regard to race, ethnicity, sex, and individuals with
disabilities; and
(G) the composition of qualifications review boards with
regard to race, ethnicity, sex, and individuals with
disabilities;
(8) make available to the public through the official
public internet site of the Office of Personnel Management,
the data collected under paragraph (7);
(9) establish mentoring programs for potential candidates
for the Senior Executive Service, including candidates who
have been certified as having the executive qualifications
necessary for initial appointment as a career appointee under
a program established pursuant to section 3396(a) of title 5,
United States Code;
(10) conduct a continuing program for the recruitment of
women, members of racial and ethnic minority groups, and
individuals with disabilities for Senior Executive Service
positions, with special efforts directed at recruiting from
educational institutions, professional associations, and
other sources;
(11) advise agencies on the best practices for an agency in
utilizing or consulting with an agency's equal employment or
diversity office or official (if the agency has such an
office or official) with regard to the agency's Senior
Executive Service appointments process; and
(12) evaluate and implement strategies to ensure that
agencies conduct appropriate outreach to other agencies to
identify candidates for Senior Executive Service positions.
(c) Protection of Individually Identifiable Information.--
For purposes of subsection (b)(8), the SES Resource Office
may combine data for any agency that is not named in section
901(b) of chapter 31, United States Code, to protect
individually identifiable information.
(d) Cooperation of Agencies.--The head of each agency shall
provide the Office of Personnel Management with such
information as the SES Resource Office may require in order
to carry out subsection (b)(7).
SEC. 5. CAREER APPOINTMENTS.
(a) Promoting Diversity in the Career Appointments
Process.--Section 3393 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by inserting after the first
sentence the following: ``In establishing an executive
resources board, the head of the agency shall, to the extent
practicable, ensure diversity of the board and of any
subgroup thereof or other evaluation panel related to the
merit staffing process for career appointees, by including
members of racial and ethnic minority groups, women, and
individuals with disabilities.''; and
(2) in subsection (c)(1), by adding after the last sentence
the following: ``Consideration should also be given to
improving diversity by including members of racial and ethnic
minority groups, women, and individuals with disabilities on
qualifications review boards.''.
(b) Regulations.--Within 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Director shall promulgate
regulations to implement subsection (a) and to improve
diversity in executive
[[Page H4847]]
resources boards and qualifications review boards.
(c) Report.--Within 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Director shall submit to the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report evaluating agency
efforts to improve diversity in executive resources boards
and of the members designated by agencies to serve on
qualifications review boards, based on the information
collected by the SES Resource Office under subparagraphs (F)
and (G) of section 4(b)(7).
SEC. 6. ENCOURAGING A MORE DIVERSE SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE.
(a) Senior Executive Service Diversity Plans.--Within 1
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, each
agency, in consultation with the Office of Personnel
Management, shall submit to the Office of Personnel
Management a plan to enhance and maximize opportunities for
the advancement and appointment of minorities, women, and
individuals with disabilities in the agency to the Senior
Executive Service. Agency plans shall address how the agency
is identifying and eliminating barriers that impair the
ability of minorities, women, and individuals with
disabilities to obtain appointments to the Senior Executive
Service and any actions the agency is taking to provide
advancement opportunities, including--
(1) conducting outreach to minorities, women, and
individuals within the agency and outside the agency;
(2) establishing and maintaining training and education
programs to foster leadership development;
(3) identifying career enhancing opportunities for agency
employees;
(4) assessing internal availability of candidates for
Senior Executive Service positions; and
(5) conducting an inventory of employee skills and
addressing current and potential gaps in skills and the
distribution of skills.
Agency plans shall be updated at least every 2 years during
the 10 years following enactment of this Act. An agency plan
shall be reviewed by the Office of Personnel Management and,
if determined to provide sufficient assurances, procedures,
and commitments to provide adequate opportunities for the
advancement and appointment of minorities, women, and
individuals with disabilities to the Senior Executive
Service, shall be approved by such Office. An agency may, in
updating its plan, submit to the Office of Personnel
Management an assessment of the impacts of the plan.
(b) Summary and Evaluation.--Within 180 days after the
deadline for the submission of any report or update under
subsection (a), the Director shall transmit to the Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report summarizing and
evaluating the agency plans or updates (as the case may be)
so submitted.
(c) Coordination.--The Office of Personnel Management
shall, in carrying out subsection (a), evaluate existing
requirements under section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-16) and section 501 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791) and determine how
agency reporting can be performed so as to be consistent
with, but not duplicative of, such sections and any other
similar requirements.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.
General Leave
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I introduced H.R. 3774, the Senior Executive Diversity Assurance Act,
on October 9, 2007. The bill was considered by the Federal Workforce
Subcommittee on April 15, 2008, and by the full Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform on May 1, 2008, when it was approved with
amendment by voice vote.
Mr. Speaker, I want wanted to thank Senator Akaka for introducing a
companion bill in the Senate, S. 2148, and for co-chairing an April 3,
2008, joint hearing where both the House and the Senate Federal
Workforce Subcommittees examined the need for legislation to improve
diversity at the highest levels of the Federal Government.
According to data from the Office of Personnel Management, the
percentage of minorities and women at senior pay levels in the Federal
Government, including the SES, is lower than in the civilian workforce
and the Federal workforce as a whole. According to GAO, the number of
African American men in the SES actually decreased between the years of
2000 and 2007. I believe that H.R. 3774 takes an important step towards
improving the diversity of the Senior Executive Service.
This bill is a long time coming. Since 2003, I have requested
Government Accountability Office reports and hearings on this issue. As
chairman of the Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce Postal Service in
the District of Columbia, I held a hearing in May 2007 on diversity in
the SES. Following that hearing, my staff and I met with a number of
Federal employee organizations, including the African American Federal
Executives Association, the National Association of Hispanic Federal
Executives, the Asian American Government Executives Network, Federally
Employed Women, Blacks in Government, and the Senior Executives
Association.
We learned that the lack of diversity in the SES is not skewed to a
shortage of women and minorities at the GS-15 and GS-14 levels, which
are the development pools for the SES. According to the Government
Accountability Office, in 2007, minorities made up 22.5 percent of the
employees in the SES development pool. At the same time, minorities
made up only 15.8 percent of the SES. Rather, we heard that there are
concerns with the selection process, and there is a lack of oversight
and accountability in promoting and hiring minorities in the SES.
The Senior Executive Service Diversity Assurance Act aims to address
these concerns. H.R. 3774, as reported by the Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform, reestablishes the Senior Executive Service
Resource Office within the Office of Personnel Management and adds new
requirements for the office such as requiring the collection of data on
the mark-up of the selection panels that considered candidates for SES
positions. OPM currently encourages agencies to make these panels
diverse but collects no data on the panels.
{time} 1530
The bill requires agencies to ensure diversity by including, to the
extent practicable, minorities, women, and individuals with
disabilities on executive resources boards and any other panels or
subgroups used to select SES appointees. This bill provides that OPM
and agencies should also give consideration to improving diversity in
qualifications review boards, which are the panels set up by OPM to
certify the leadership qualifications of potential SES appointees. The
bill requires OPM to issue regulations and report to Congress on agency
efforts to improve the diversity of executive resources boards and
qualifications review boards.
Finally, under this bill, agencies will be required to submit
diversity plans, modeled on the current requirement that agencies
submit plans for the hiring and advancement of individuals with
disabilities. Each agency must submit a plan to OPM describing what
efforts the agency is making to enhance and maximize opportunities for
the advancement and appointment of minorities, women, and individuals
with disabilities to the SES. These plans will have to be updated every
2 years for 10 years, and OPM will be required to submit a report to
Congress summarizing and evaluating agency plans. I have also included
a findings section that will help explain the purpose and intent of the
legislation which is to address the concerns of the numbers of
minorities in the SES.
Diversity will not be achieved in the SES on good intentions and
failed policies. Now is the time to improve diversity in the SES,
particularly since 90 percent of the current SES corps will retire over
the next 10 years. Diversity of gender, ethnicity, age, and
disabilities, as well as diversity of education, thinking, and
experience are crucial if the Federal workforce is to mirror the
communities we live in and serve. Paying close attention to diversity
is the key to staying competitive in an increasingly global economy and
recruiting the best and brightest workforce. It is my belief that all
Americans want to work for organizations where they have the
opportunity to use their skills, their knowledge to develop their
careers. The Senior Executive Service Diversity Assurance Act will help
provide that opportunity.
Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 3774.
I reserve the balance of my time.
[[Page H4848]]
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on H.R. 3774, the Senior Executive
Service Diversity Assurance Act.
In April of this year, the Department of Justice wrote to the
committee raising a number of constitutional concerns with the
introduced version of this legislation. While a number of changes were
made to address these concerns during committee consideration of the
legislation, some remained concerned that the legislation could still
be vulnerable to constitutional challenges. For example, making
demographic information about these senior executive service candidates
and incumbents available for hiring purposes could suggest that this
information should be taken into account in the selection process.
But I stand before you today to raise a concern much bigger than the
state of our Federal workforce. I stand before you today to bring your
attention to the woeful lack of attention that has been given this
Congress to the skyrocketing gas prices throughout this Nation.
Throughout the country, for the first time in our history, a gallon
of gas at local gas stations averages more than $4, and there appears
to be no relief in sight for working class Americans.
House Republicans have introduced a comprehensive plan to lower gas
prices and preserve energy independence. The Republican plan would
increase the production of American-made energy in an environmentally
safe way. It would promote new, clean, and reliable energy sources. It
would cut red tape and increase the supply of American-made fuel and
energy. And it would encourage greater efficiency by offering
conservation tax incentives.
The Democrats, however, have no such plan to help American families
and small businesses deal with their increasing pain at the pump.
At a time when our country is facing a serious crisis in energy
prices, with all due respect to my colleague from Illinois, my
assumption is that most Americans would prefer that we focus on solving
America's energy woes, rather than spending valuable floor time
debating the creation of various offices within the Office of Personnel
Management.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve our time.
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers and yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to thank and
commend chairman of the Oversight Committee, Representative Henry
Waxman, and the ranking member, Representative Tom Davis, for their
outstanding leadership and work on this legislation.
I also want to commend all of our staff persons on both sides of the
committee, both the Democratic side and the Republican side. And
especially do I want to commend my staff director for the Subcommittee
on the Federal Workforce, District of Columbia and Postal Service, Ms.
Tania Shand, for the tremendous work that she has done on this issue
over the last 3 years in actuality.
And with that, Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill.
I yield back the balance of our time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 3774, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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