[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 143 (Friday, September 23, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1706-E1707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INTRODUCING THE HIRING PROCESS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN P. SARBANES

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 23, 2011

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, in the coming decade, close to 50% of the 
federal workforce will be eligible to retire, making the development of 
the next generation of federal workers even more vital. Yet, as federal 
agencies struggle to recruit and retain the next generation of public 
servants, we continue to force hiring managers and prospective 
candidates to navigate an out-dated and bureaucratic hiring process 
that deters the best and brightest from pursuing careers in public 
service.
  In short, the Federal hiring process is broken. Despite increased 
pressure from the Administration to improve hiring and recruitment 
processes:
  Many federal agencies still take as long as 200 days from the date of 
a vacancy to hire--delays that compromise federal recruitment, 
jeopardize government operations and waste taxpayer dollars.
  The hiring process at federal agencies involves as many as 110 
discrete steps and more than 45 hand-offs between managers, 
administrative officers and HR specialists.
  In some agencies, hiring managers are required to select from the 
three highest-rated candidates selected by HR specialists, making it 
impossible for managers to play a role in recruiting their own staff.
  Rather than base initial screening decisions on applicants' resume 
and cover letter, candidates for federal employment must provide 
lengthy, essay-style responses about the applicants' knowledge, skills 
and abilities (KSAs).
  That is why I have joined Senator Akaka in authoring this common-
sense, good government legislation to bring the federal hiring process 
in-line with private sector best practices by:
  Requiring agencies and departments to develop a comprehensive 
strategic workforce plan focused on hiring, recruitment, skills 
deficiencies and potential process reforms;
  Moving the federal government to a resume- and cover letter-based 
application system;
  Shortening the federal hiring process to an average of 80 days after 
a vacancy has been posted;
  Better integrating hiring managers into all stages of the hiring 
process and providing them with greater flexibility in final decisions; 
and
  Requiring government wide data collection and reporting on the 
efficacy of the hiring process.
  This legislation has a long, bipartisan history--in 2009, Senators 
Akaka and Voinovich authored similar legislation in the Senate. In 
2010, President Obama recognized the tremendous personnel challenges 
facing federal agencies and issued Improving the Federal Recruitment 
and Hiring Process, a Presidential Memorandum on federal hiring reform 
that includes some of the elements in our legislation. The Senate 
unanimously passed the Akaka-Voinovich Federal Hiring Process 
Improvement Act in the previous Congress, only to watch it die in the 
House.
  Enactment of a substantive, bipartisan hiring reform bill is long 
past due. Our legislation seeks to codify and build upon the 
Administration's memorandum, while ensuring an unprecedented level of 
transparency in and oversight of the federal hiring process. The 
Washington Post called on Congress to pass the Federal Hiring Process 
Improvement Act in a July 2011 editorial, arguing that ``today's 
antiquated hiring practices are thwarting a generation of inspired 
public servants in the making.''
  I would like to take this opportunity to thank Senator Akaka for his 
tremendous leadership on federal hiring and recruitment issues and to 
thank the Partnership for Public Service for their advocacy in support 
of hiring reform. Whether it is a firefighter saving lives, an agent 
protecting our borders, a scientist pioneering new research, or a nurse 
caring for our veterans, we owe it to taxpayers and the next generation 
of public servants to build a better hiring process and to ensure that 
those with the desire to serve our country are able to do so.

                [From the Washington Post, July 3, 2011]

            The Federal Government Is Still Too Slow To Hire

       Less lucrative compensation and benefits aren't the only 
     factors turning thousands of promising college graduates away 
     from public service. The hiring process for employment in the 
     federal government also remains impossibly long, and many 
     recent alumni just aren't financially equipped to wait it 
     out.
       More than a year ago, President Obama launched what the 
     administration called a ``comprehensive initiative to address 
     major, long-standing impediments to recruiting and hiring the 
     best and the brightest into the federal civilian workforce.'' 
     Mr. Obama directed the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 
     to institute reforms--dubbed the Pathway Programs--to 
     streamline hiring for students as well as recent graduates. 
     As The Post reported then, ``Management Director John Berry 
     drew a rousing ovation'' when the agency announced it was 
     replacing

[[Page E1707]]

     cumberson ``skills essays'' with resume-based applications.
       Despite the initiative, many federal agencies still take as 
     long as 200 days from the date of a vacancy to hire. While 
     Christine Griffin, deputy director of OPM, told Senate panel 
     last month that the OPM efforts had ``systemically 
     overhauled'' the process and made the USAJOBS Web site more 
     ``efficient and user-friendly,'' other experts disagreed. The 
     dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and the 
     director of the National Association of Schools of Public 
     Affairs contended that the government continues to drives 
     away a majority of graduate degree holders.
       This failing couldn't come at a worse time: The government 
     will face its largest wave of employee retirements in the 
     next five years, and critical posts in fields such as 
     national security and science will need to be filled.
       Luckily, there is a bipartisan answer. The Federal Hiring 
     Process Improvement Act of 2010, co-sponsored by Sen. Daniel 
     Akaka (D-Hawaii) and then-Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), was 
     passed unanimously by the Senate. The bill, intended to build 
     on the president's directive, requires all agencies to limit 
     their hiring time to 80 days, inform job candidates of their 
     statuses in a timely manner, convert to a universal resume 
     application and craft job descriptions as well as 
     announcements in plain writing.
       The bill failed to pass the House, thanks to lawmakers 
     leery of affiliating themselves with ``federal hiring'' 
     legislation at a time when government spending is unpopular. 
     But it makes no sense to punish recent college graduates for 
     the excessive spending of the past.
       Mr. Akaka, who chairs the subcommittee on oversight of 
     government management and the federal workforce, is lobbying 
     anew for ratification of his proposed reform.
       His measure deserves support. It's time for the federal 
     government to take the recruiting of human resources as 
     seriously as successful private and nonprofit organizations 
     do. Today's antiquated hiring practices are thwarting a 
     generation of inspired public servants in the making.

                          ____________________