[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 116 (Thursday, July 14, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E730-E731]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                     HON. ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 13, 2022

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to 
several provisions included in this year's National Defense 
Authorization Act (NDAA) Reauthorization, although ultimately, I will 
vote in favor for final passage of the bill.
  First, I oppose Amendment 640, considered on the floor as part of en 
bloc Amendment 5, which directs the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) to reclassify public safety telecommunications officers, also 
called 911 dispatchers, as a protective service occupation in the U.S. 
Government's Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. This 
Amendment would have no direct effect on these workers' wages, 
benefits, or other resources; proponents of this reclassification have 
stated that it ``would provide validation.''
  The SOC classification system is a federal statistical standard used 
across agencies in data collection. According to OMB, ``[t]he-SOC is 
designed exclusively for statistical purposes.'' Changes to the codes 
affect multiple data sources frequently used by policymakers, 
researchers, and employers, including the American Community Survey, 
the nation's largest household survey; the Current Population Survey 
(CPS), the key source of our monthly employment numbers; and the 
Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), the authoritative source of 
employment and wage information by occupation. These changes would 
undermine the intent and legitimacy of the SOC by deviating from the 
long-established process designed to ensure the objectivity and 
integrity statistical data classifications more broadly.
  A standing committee at OMB, the SOC Policy Committee (SOCPC), is 
responsible for maintaining the accuracy of these codes using well-
defined principles. The SOCPC undertakes a routine revision of the 
codes roughly once per decade; the process spans multiple years and 
``involves extensive background research, periods or public comment, 
review of comments, and implementation of revisions.'' During its 
latest revision, which began in early 2012 and was finalized in 2018, 
OMB specifically rejected comments requesting it reclassify 911 
dispatchers as directed in Amendment 640. In response to public 
comments presented in the May 2014 Federal Register, the Obama 
Administration's OMB explained it ``did not accept these 
recommendations based on Classification Principle 2, which states that 
workers are coded according to the work performed. The work performed 
is that of a dispatcher, not a first responder.''
  In 2016, OMB declined a similar request for reclassification. Based 
on the principles OMB's policy committee applies to determine SOC 
codes, 911 telephone dispatchers are already properly and accurately 
classified. This point was reiterated in communications with the 
Education and Labor Committee in 2021, explaining, ``After an extensive 
technical review of the requested reclassification for 911 dispatchers, 
OMB, consistent with the recommendation of the Chief Statistician of 
the United States, decided not to make such an adjustment because it is 
inconsistent with the statistical purposes of the SOC.''
  Furthermore, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in a written 
communication with the Education and Labor Committee on September 15, 
2021, reported that the change made by H.R. 1175, a bill identical to 
Amendment 640, ``will introduce costly, unnecessary logistical and data 
interpretation delays and challenges affecting the quality of data.'' 
Moreover, changes outside of the routine revision process would 
undermine the goal of data continuity, limiting data sources' 
usefulness for their key purpose of statistical analysis; create 
precedent for disrupting the standard SOC revision process; and 
undermine the SOCPC's authority as experts to apply the classification 
principles to determine what accuracy requires.
  Public safety telecommunications officers perform critical, 
challenging work. They deserve our honor and gratitude for their 
efforts. However, considering the many alternative ways policymakers 
could confer ``validation,'' as the proponents are seeking, there is 
little policy justification for this Amendment's approach to achieving 
that goal. Furthermore, the SOC is not intended to rank or group 
occupations by education, credentials, earnings, benefits, or any other 
user-defined indicator of status.
  In conclusion, mandating a change to a statistical code would not 
affect these workers' wages, benefits, or other resources--but it would 
disrupt data series continuity; require significant additional work for 
government agencies, researchers, employers, and others; and intervene 
in an official, routine government data-collection and statistical 
process.
  Second, I oppose language in the bill, added by Amendment 113 
considered on the floor as part of the en bloc Amendment 2, which would 
expand the Troops-to-Teachers program from recruiting veterans to 
become teachers, to recruiting veterans to fill a longer list of 
school-based positions including school resource officers (SROs). 
Increasing the presence of SROs can have a particularly harmful effect 
on students of color and students with disabilities. Nationally, Black 
and Latinx youth make up over 58 percent of school-based arrests while 
representing only 40 percent of public school enrollment, and Black 
students are more than twice as likely to be referred to law 
enforcement or arrested at school as their white peers. According to a 
2018 study by GAO, Black students, boys, and students with disabilities 
are also disproportionately disciplined in K-12 public schools.
  Moreover, the amendment removes crucial language from the definition 
of ``eligible school'' which would target resources to high-poverty 
schools. This is concerning with regard to the recruitment of key 
positions such as teachers, school leaders, and counselors to meet the 
needs of students in high-poverty schools, particularly as high-poverty 
schools have been disproportionately impacted by recent staffing 
shortages.
  Finally, I oppose section 572 of the bill, added to NDAA during the 
full committee markup of the bill on June 23. The Department of Defense 
Education Activity (DoDEA) plays a critical role in educating the 
children of our nation's military families. Across the globe, DoDEA 
coordinates the education of more than 60,000 children. Importantly, 
the DoDEA

[[Page E731]]

also stands apart from other public-school districts as one of only two 
federally operated K-12 school systems.
  As a result, while it is within the federal government's purview to 
implement the proposed requirements for DoDEA schools under this 
legislation, these proposed requirements would be inappropriate to 
impose on traditional public school districts. This is a unique 
exception in our education system. Moving forward, Congress must 
continue to ensure that state and local governments can meet the unique 
needs of their students and parents without mandating requirements 
regarding the rights of parents.
  While I support the overall passage of NDAA, I remain opposed to 
these three provisions.

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