[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 6, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H1414-H1416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
POLITICAL APPOINTEE BURROWING PREVENTION ACT
Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 1132) to amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for a 2-
year prohibition on employment in a career civil service position for
any former political appointee, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows
H.R. 1132
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 ``Political Appointee
Burrowing Prevention Act''.
SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON EMPLOYMENT OF POLITICAL APPOINTEES IN
CAREER CIVIL SERVICE POSITIONS.
(a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 31 of title 5,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``Sec. 3115. Employment of political appointees
``(a) Appointment Approval Required.--
``(1) In general.--The head of an agency may not appoint
any individual described in paragraph (5) to a career
position within the agency without receiving prior written
approval from the Associate Director of Merit Systems
Accountability and Compliance, consistent with the
requirements of this subsection.
``(2) Request.--The head of an agency shall submit a
request to the Associate Director to approve the appointment
of any individual described in paragraph (5) to a career
position. Any such request shall include certification by the
head of the agency to the Associate Director that the
appointment is necessary for the agency to meet its mission.
``(3) Review and determination.--The Associate Director
shall review any request received pursuant to paragraph (2)
and deny any such request unless the Associate Director
determines that the appointment process with respect to the
request was fair, open, and free from political influence. If
the Associate Director makes that determination, the
Associate Director may approve the request.
``(4) Notification to congress.--With respect to any
request approved under paragraph (3), the Associate Director
shall, not less than five days before the date the Associate
Director provides approval to the head of the requesting
agency, provide 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 the
agency certification under paragraph (2) and the agency
head's rationale for that certification.
``(5) Covered individuals.--An individual described in this
paragraph is--
``(A) a political appointee;
``(B) a former political appointee who held any political
position during the five-year period before the date of the
request described in paragraph (2); or
``(C) at the discretion of the Director of the Office of
Personnel Management, a former political appointee who held
any political position before the five-year period described
in subparagraph (B).
``(b) Restriction on Appointment.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or
regulation, during the 2-year period following the date a
political appointee leaves or departs from a political
position, such appointee may not be appointed to any career
position in the civil service.
``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a
political appointee who has not personally and substantially
participated in any particular matter while employed in a
political position.
``(c) Application.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to restrict the appointment of an individual who
is--
``(1) entitled to reinstatement under section 3593(b); or
``(2) eligible for reinstatement under section 3593(a).
[[Page H1415]]
``(d) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `agency' has the meaning given the term
`Executive agency' in section 105;
``(2) the term `Associate Director' means the Associate
Director of Merit Systems Accountability and Compliance at
the Office of Personnel Management;
``(3) the term `political appointee' means an individual
serving in an appointment of any duration to a political
position;
``(4) the term `political position' means--
``(A) a position with respect to which appointment is
made--
``(i) by the President; or
``(ii) by the President, by and with the advice and consent
of the Senate;
``(B) a position which has been excepted from the
competitive service by reason of its confidential, policy-
determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character;
``(C) a position described under sections 5312 through 5316
(relating to the Executive Schedule); and
``(D) a general position in the Senior Executive Service
during such time as it is filled by--
``(i) a noncareer appointee, as defined in paragraph (7) of
section 3132(a); or
``(ii) a limited term appointee or limited emergency
appointee, as defined in paragraphs (5) and (6) of section
3132(a), who is serving under a political appointment.
``(5) the term `career position' means--
``(A) a position in the competitive service filled by
career or career-conditional appointment;
``(B) a position in the excepted service filled by an
appointment of equivalent tenure as a position described in
subparagraph (A);
``(C) a career reserved position, as defined in paragraph
(8) of section 3132(a), in the Senior Executive Service; or
``(D) a general position in the Senior Executive Service
when filled by a career appointee, as defined in section
3132(a)(4);
``(6) the term `participated' means an action taken as an
officer or employee through decision, approval, disapproval,
recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or
other such action; and
``(7) the term `particular matter' includes any
investigation, application, request for a ruling or
determination, rulemaking, contract, controversy, claim,
charge, accusation, arrest, or judicial or other
proceeding.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections of chapter
31 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding after
the item relating to section 3114 the following:
``3115. Employment of political appointees.''.
(c) Application.--
(1) Appointment requests.--Section 3115(a) of title 5,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply
to any appointment or request for appointment described in
such section submitted to the Associate Director of Merit
Systems Accountability and Compliance after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(2) Limitation on appointments.--Section 3115(b) of title
5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall
apply to any individual who leaves or departs from a
political position (as that term is defined in section
3115(c)(2) of such title, as added by such subsection) after
the date of enactment of this Act.
(d) Regulations Required.--The Director of the Office of
Personnel Management shall issue regulations necessary to
carry out this Act. Such regulations shall include guidance
on the definition of the term ``personally and substantially
participated in a particular matter'' in section 3115(b)(2)
of title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a),
consistent with section 2641.201 of title 5, Code of Federal
Regulations.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Iowa (Mr. Blum) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Iowa.
General Leave
Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Iowa?
There was no objection.
Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1132, the Political
Appointee Burrowing Prevention Act, introduced by the gentleman from
Colorado, Representative Buck.
This important bill will protect the integrity of the civil service
and ensure the American people are served by a competent, nonpolitical
career workforce.
Under current law, each administration appoints a political staff to
help advance the administration's political goals. These political
employees leave at the end of the administration to make way for the
next administration's appointees.
In contrast, the career civil service is designed to carry over from
administration to administration. These employees should be hired based
on their qualifications and promoted based on their performance.
Despite the significant differences between the two types of positions,
however, political appointees are currently allowed to convert to
career positions. This practice is known as ``burrowing.''
As the Government Accountability Office explained: ``Circumstances
surrounding conversions can raise questions as to whether the
individuals selected experienced favoritism or enjoyed an unfair
advantage in the selection process.''
GAO went on to say: ``Any appearance of this could compromise the
merit system's integrity.''
H.R. 1132, the Political Appointee Burrowing Prevention Act, will
enact in law the requirement for OPM to review political conversions.
The bill also raises the bar for political conversions, requiring an
agency certify the conversion is necessary to meet its mission. To
ensure Congress can continue to monitor for abuse, the certification
must be provided to Congress before it is approved.
Finally, the bill prohibits political conversions within 2 years of
leaving a political appointment. This ensures sufficient time has
passed between when political appointees finish their appointment and
when they may become a career employee.
In closing, this bill protects the integrity of the merit-based
system so career politicians stay free of politics. The American people
deserve nothing less.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the bill before us is H.R. 1132, the Political Appointee
Burrowing Prevention Act, as amended.
I want to thank my friends on the majority for working with us to
improve this bill since its consideration by the committee. Because of
the improvements we have been able to make, I support moving this bill
forward in the legislative process; however, I continue to believe that
some further changes may be needed.
The bill would make it very difficult to hire former political
appointees into career positions in the Federal Government. It would
prohibit hiring a former political appointee into a career position for
2 years after that individual held a political position.
It would also add significant hurdles for agencies seeking to hire an
applicant to a career position who separated from a political
appointment in the last 5 years. The agency would be required to
certify to the Office of Personnel Management that the appointment is
``necessary to the agency's ability to meet its mission.''
There are several controls already in place to ensure that the
process used to hire former political appointees into career positions
is fair, open, and based on merit. For example, the Office of Personnel
Management must ensure, right now, that the appointment process was
free from political influence and report the results of its reviews to
Congress.
A February 2017 report found that OPM reviewed just 16 requests by
agencies to hire former political appointees from October 1, 2016,
through January 20, 2017, and did not find any reason to deny any of
those requests.
We all want the best people in the Federal service, and there should
be no undue favoritism in the hiring process.
In comments on this bill, OPM suggested that certain provisions may
conflict with the merit system principles that have formed the basis of
the Federal civil service for over a century. That issue should be
clarified before this bill becomes enacted into law.
Nonetheless, we support the spirit with which the bill is offered us
today, and we have no objections to the legislation in front of us.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Buck), the sponsor of the bill and my esteemed colleague.
Mr. BUCK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Iowa for the time
today to talk about this important legislation.
[[Page H1416]]
Mr. Speaker, I want to speak on behalf of the Political Appointee
Burrowing Prevention Act. This important legislation addresses a
problem affecting our Federal workforce.
Our Federal civil service hiring process is supposed to be a
competitive, merit-based system where the best and brightest
individuals are considered based on their qualifications and ability to
do their job, not because of their political connections. However, we
have seen a concerning trend where excepted service employees,
specifically political appointees, are converted into high-paying,
lifelong civil service positions, bypassing the normal competitive
hiring process.
This process, also known as ``burrowing,'' defeats the purpose of
having a nonpartisan, merit-based civil service. In fact, the
Government Accountability Office reports that the Obama administration
converted 78 political appointments into career positions, while the
Bush administration allowed 135 political appointees to burrow into
career positions.
This trend raises significant concerns that individuals who were not
chosen based solely on their merits may, at best, not be the most
qualified candidate for the job, or, at worst, may not be willing to
properly execute the law under a new administration.
{time} 1530
Political appointees are supposed to serve their appointing
President's agenda for a temporary period of time. Part of their duty
to the Nation is to know when it is time to step down from their
position of power.
Congress must act to ensure this principle is upheld and to protect
the independence of our merit-based civil service. That is why I, along
with my friend and colleague, Representative Ted Lieu, have offered an
equitable solution to ensure this problem is stopped in its tracks.
Our bill, the Political Appointee Burrowing Prevention Act, places a
2-year ban on political appointees being hired for any job in the civil
service after they depart a political position.
Additionally, the bill ensures that after the 2-year ban is
completed, the head of the agency seeking to employ the individual must
submit a written request to OPM detailing why hiring a former appointee
is necessary to the agency's mission.
Furthermore, OPM is instructed to deny the application unless the
agency head can prove why it is necessary to hire this individual
instead of an applicant from the merit-based hiring pool.
This commonsense bill ensures that our Federal workforce is filled
with career civil servants who are the most qualified, not the most
politically connected.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense
legislation that ensures our Federal workforce is being selected by
merit, not by political patronage.
Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I do support the bill in the spirit in which this bill
is offered. I think we want to make sure we preserve the integrity of
the civil service system that we have worked so hard to build in this
country, where we build in integrity and we avoid nepotism and
favoritism and political connections over merit.
One caveat, though, as I mentioned: once in a while, there may be a
political appointee who is the best thing since sliced bread, who
brings a level of expertise that we need, and we don't want to make it
harder to look at those credentials on their merits. I know that is not
the intention of the bill, but it may be one of the unintended
consequences, and that is what we want to just make sure we are not
doing as we move forward, but with that, I support the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Blum) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 1132, 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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