[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H258-H262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CHANCE TO COMPETE ACT OF 2023
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
[[Page H259]]
(H.R. 159) to implement merit-based reforms to the civil service hiring
system that replace degree-based hiring with skills- and competency-
based hiring, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 159
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 ``Chance to Compete Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
(a) Terms Defined in Section 3304 of Title 5, United States
Code.--In this Act, the terms ``agency'', ``Director'',
``examining agency'', ``Office'', ``subject matter expert'',
and ``technical assessment'' have the meanings given those
terms in subsection (c)(1) of section 3304 of title 5, United
States Code, as added by section 3(a).
(b) Other Terms.--In this Act, the term ``competitive
service'' has the meaning given the term in section 2102 of
title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 3. DEFINING THE TERM ``EXAMINATION'' FOR PURPOSES OF
HIRING IN THE COMPETITIVE SERVICE.
(a) Examinations; Technical Assessments.--
(1) In general.--Section 3304 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended--
(A) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) as
subsections (d) through (g), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Examinations.--
``(1) Definitions.--
``(A) Examination.--
``(i) In this chapter, the term `examination'--
``(I) means an opportunity to directly demonstrate
knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies, through a
passing score assessment;
``(II) includes a resume review that is--
``(aa) conducted by a subject matter expert; and
``(bb) based upon indicators that--
``(AA) are derived from a job analysis; and
``(BB) bear a rational relationship to performance in the
position for which the examining agency is hiring; and
``(III) on and after the date that is 2 years after the
date of enactment of the Chance to Compete Act of 2023 does
not include a self-assessment from an automated examination,
a resume review (except as provided in subclause (II)), or
any other method of determining the experience or level of
educational attainment of an individual, alone.
``(ii)(I) An agency's Chief Human Capital Officer may waive
clause (i)(III) when needed to enable the filling of a
position or class of positions.
``(II) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment
of the Chance to Compete Act of 2023, the Director shall
provide agencies guidance and instruction on the data,
evidence, and circumstances that Chief Human Capital Officers
of agencies should consider in determining whether to grant a
waiver under subclause (I).
``(III)(aa) An agency shall post any waiver granted under
subclause (I) on a public website within 30 days of the
granting of the waiver.
``(bb) A waiver shall not be considered in effect until it
is posted on the public website pursuant to item (aa).
``(IV)(aa) Each agency shall submit to the Director on a
semiannual basis a report summarizing the number of waivers
granted by the Chief Human Capital Officer of the agency
under subclause (I) during the preceding 6-month period and
the reasons therefor.
``(bb) The Director shall submit annually to the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate
and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the
House of Representatives a report summarizing the number of
waivers granted by the Chief Human Capital Officers of all
agencies under subclause (I) during the preceding year and
the reasons therefor provided by the agencies.
``(V) Not more than 10 percent of an agency's positions
filled through competitive hiring procedures during a fiscal
year may be filled under the authority of a waiver granted
under clause (I), and an agency shall obtain the Director's
approval to fill more than 5 percent of such positions under
such authority.
``(B) Other definitions.--In this subsection--
``(i) the term `agency' means an agency described in
section 901(b) of title 31;
``(ii) the term `Director' means the Director of the
Office;
``(iii) the term `examining agency' means--
``(I) the Office; or
``(II) an agency to which the Director has delegated
examining authority under section 1104(a)(2) of this title;
``(iv) the term `passing score assessment' means an
assessment that an individual can pass or fail;
``(v) the term `subject matter expert' means an employee or
selecting official--
``(I) who possesses understanding of the duties of, and
knowledge, skills, and abilities required for, the position
for which the employee or selecting official is developing or
administering an assessment; and
``(II) whom the agency that employs the employee or
selecting official designates to assist in the development
and administration of technical assessments under paragraph
(2); and
``(vi) the term `technical assessment' means an assessment
developed under paragraph (2)(A)(i) that--
``(I) allows for the demonstration of job-related technical
skills, abilities, and knowledge;
``(II)(aa) is based upon a job analysis; and
``(bb) is relevant to the position for which the assessment
is developed; and
``(III) may include--
``(aa) a structured interview;
``(bb) a work-related exercise;
``(cc) a custom or generic procedure used to measure an
individual's employment or career-related qualifications and
interests; or
``(dd) another assessment that meets the criteria under
subclauses (I) and (II).
``(2) Technical assessments.--
``(A) In general.--For the purpose of conducting an
examination for a position in the competitive service, an
individual or individuals whom an agency determines to have
an expertise in the subject and job field of the position, as
affirmed and audited by the Chief Human Capital Officer or
Human Resources Director (as applicable) of that agency,
may--
``(i) develop, in partnership with human resources
employees of the examining agency, a position-specific
assessment that is relevant to the position; and
``(ii) administer the assessment developed under clause (i)
to--
``(I) determine whether an applicant for the position has a
passing score to be qualified for the position; or
``(II) rank applicants for the position for category rating
purposes under section 3319.
``(B) Sharing and customization of assessments.--
``(i) Sharing.--An examining agency may share a technical
assessment with another examining agency if each agency
maintains appropriate control over examination material.
``(ii) Customization.--An examining agency with which a
technical assessment is shared under clause (i) may customize
the assessment as appropriate, provided that the resulting
assessment satisfies the requirements under part 300 of title
5, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation).
``(iii) Platform for sharing and customization.--
``(I) In general.--The Director shall establish and operate
an online platform on which examining agencies can share and
customize technical assessments under this subparagraph.
``(II) Online platform.--The Director shall ensure that the
online platform described in subclause (I) includes the
ability of its users to rate the utility of the content and
technical assessments shared in the online platform to allow
for a ranking of such contents.
``(3) Regulations.--Not later than one year after the date
of enactment of the Chance to Compete Act of 2023, the Office
of Personnel Management shall prescribe regulations necessary
for the administration of this subsection with respect to
employees in each agency.''.
(2) Alternative ranking and selection procedures.--Section
3319(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following: ``To be placed in a quality
category under the preceding sentence, an applicant shall be
required to have passed an examination in accordance with
section 3304(b).''.
(3) Technical and conforming amendment.--Section
3330a(a)(1)(B) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by
striking ``section 3304(f)(1)'' and inserting ``section
3304(g)(1)''.
(b) Implementation of Passing Score Assessment
Requirement.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director and the head of any other
examining agency shall eliminate the use of any examination
for the competitive service that does not satisfy the
definition of the term ``examination'' in subsection
(c)(1)(A) of section 3304 of title 5, United States Code (as
amended by subsection (a)(1)(B)).
(2) Report required.--One year following the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the
Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report examining
agencies' progress in implementing the requirement specified
in paragraph (1), identifying any significant difficulties
encountered in such implementation.
(c) OPM Reporting.--
(1) Public online tool.--
(A) In general.--The Director of the Office of Personnel
Management shall maintain and periodically update a publicly
available online tool that, with respect to each position in
the competitive service for which an examining agency
examined applicants during the applicable period, includes--
(i) the type of assessment used, such as--
(I) a behavioral off-the-shelf assessment;
(II) a resume review conducted by a subject matter expert;
(III) an interview conducted by a subject matter expert;
(IV) a technical off-the-shelf assessment; or
(V) a cognitive ability test;
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(ii) whether or not the agency selected a candidate for the
position; and
(iii) the hiring authority used to fill the position.
(B) Timing.--
(i) Initial data.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Director shall update the
online tool described in subparagraph (A) with data for
positions in the competitive service for which an examining
agency examined applicants during the period beginning on the
date of enactment of this Act and ending on the date of
submission of the report.
(ii) Subsequent updates.--Not later than October 1 of each
fiscal year beginning after the date on which the online tool
is initially updated under clause (i), the Director shall
update the online tool described in subparagraph (A) with
data for positions in the competitive service for which an
examining agency examined applicants during the preceding
fiscal year.
(2) Annual progress report.--
(A) In general.--Each year, the Director, in accordance
with subparagraphs (B) and (C), shall make publicly available
and submit to Congress an overall progress report that
includes summary data from examinations that are closed,
audited, and anonymous on the use of examinations (as defined
in subsection (c)(1)(A) of section 3304 of title 5, United
States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section) for
the competitive service, including technical assessments.
(B) Categories; baseline data.--In carrying out
subparagraph (A), the Director shall--
(i) break the data down by applicant demographic indicator,
including veteran status, race, gender, disability, and any
other measure the Director determines appropriate; and
(ii) use the data available as of October 1, 2020, as a
baseline.
(C) Limitations.--In carrying out subparagraph (A), the
Director may only make publicly available and submit to
Congress data relating to examinations for which--
(i) the related announcement is closed;
(ii) certificates have been audited; and
(iii) all hiring processes are completed.
(d) GAO Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit to Congress a report that--
(1) assesses the implementation of this section and the
amendments made by this section;
(2) assesses the impact and modifications to the hiring
process for the competitive service made by this section and
the amendments made by this section; and
(3) makes recommendations for the improvement of the hiring
process for the competitive service.
SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO COMPETITIVE SERVICE ACT OF 2015.
(a) Platforms for Sharing Certificates of Eligibles.--
(1) In general.--Section 3318(b) of title 5, United States
Code, is amended--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``240-day'' and inserting
``1-year'';
(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
``(5) Online tool for sharing resumes of individuals on
certificates of eligibles.--Not later than one year after the
date of enactment of the Chance to Compete Act of 2023, the
Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall
establish and operate an online tool on which an appointing
authority can share, with other appointing authorities and
the Chief Human Capital Officers Council established under
section 1303 of the Chief Human Capital Officers Act of 2002
(5 U.S.C. 1401 note; Public Law 107-296), the resumes of
individuals who are on a certificate of eligibles requested
by the appointing authority. In carrying out this paragraph,
the Director shall consult with the Chief Human Capital
Officers Counsel and its membership to develop a plan to
establish such online tool.''.
(2) Plan.--Not later than 270 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall provide to Congress
a plan to develop the online tool required in paragraph (5)
of section 3318(b) of title 5, United States Code, as added
by paragraph (1) of this subsection. Such plan shall--
(A) incorporate the input and feedback collected during the
required consultation under such paragraph; and
(B) include estimated costs for building and operating the
online tool.
(b) Maximizing Sharing of Applicant Information.--Section 2
of the Competitive Service Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-137;
130 Stat. 310) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections
(d) and (e), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Exploring the Benefits of Maximizing Sharing of
Applicant Information.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
``(A) the terms `agency', `Director', and `Office' have the
meanings given those terms in section 3304(c)(1) of title 5,
United States Code; and
``(B) the term `competitive service' has the meaning given
the term in section 2102 of title 5, United States Code.
``(2) Maximizing sharing.--The Director shall maximize the
sharing of information among agencies regarding qualified
applicants for positions in the competitive service,
including by--
``(A) providing for the delegation to other agencies of the
authority of the Office to host multi-agency hiring actions
to increase the return on investment on high-quality pooled
announcements; and
``(B) sharing certificates of eligibles and accompanying
resumes for appointment.''.
SEC. 5. MODERNIZING AND REFORMING THE ASSESSMENT AND HIRING
OF FEDERAL JOB CANDIDATES.
(a) OPM Review.--The Director shall conduct a review of all
examinations for hiring for a position that the Office or any
other examining agency has determined requires a minimum
educational requirement because the nature of the duties of
such position is of a scientific, technical, or professional
position pursuant to section 3308 of title 5, United States
Code, to determine whether there are data, evidence, or other
information that justifies the need for educational
requirements for such position. The Director shall consult
with appropriate agencies, employee representatives, external
experts, and other stakeholders when making any such
determinations.
(b) Online Tool Regarding Position Duties.--
(1) In general.--Not later than two years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall create and maintain
an online tool that lists each of the duties determined to
require minimum educational requirements and the data,
evidence, or other information that justifies the need for
these educational requirements. This online tool shall
include a mechanism to receive feedback regarding data,
evidence, or information that could affect the determination
that a duty requires a minimum educational requirement.
(2) Hiring practices.--Not later than one year after the
creation of the online tool under paragraph (1), the Director
and the head of any other examining agency shall amend the
hiring practices of the Office or the other examining agency,
respectively, in accordance with the findings of the review
made by subsection (a).
(c) Online Tool Regarding Recruiting.--Upon the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish and
maintain an online tool that provides Federal agencies
guidance on, and information about, all programs and
authorities that help agencies attract, recruit, hire, and
retain individuals.
SEC. 6. TALENT TEAMS.
(a) Federal Agency Talent Teams.--
(1) In general.--An agency may establish one or more talent
teams (referred to in this section as ``agency talent
teams''), including at the component level.
(2) Duties.--An agency talent team shall provide hiring
support to the agency and other agencies, including by--
(A) improving examinations (as defined in subsection
(c)(1)(A) of section 3304 of title 5, United States Code, as
added by section 3(a));
(B) facilitating writing job announcements for the
competitive service;
(C) sharing high-quality certificates of eligibles; and
(D) facilitating hiring for the competitive service using
examinations (as defined in such subsection (c)(1)(A)) and
subject matter experts.
(b) Office of Personnel Management.--The Director may
establish a Federal talent team to support agency talent
teams in facilitating pooled hiring actions across the
Federal Government, providing training, and creating
technology platforms to facilitate hiring for the competitive
service, including--
(1) the development of technical assessments; and
(2) the sharing of certificates of eligibles and
accompanying resumes under sections 3318(b) and 3319(c) of
title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 7. UPDATES TO SYSTEM OF RECORDS FOR HIRING ACTIONS IN
THE CIVIL SERVICE.
(a) Update to Select System of Records.--Not later than 180
days after the date of enactment of this Act, and on a
regular basis thereafter, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall provide guidance to all Federal
departments and agencies to ensure appropriate use of a
system of records, including any governmentwide systems of
records, to meet the requirements of section 552a of title 5,
United States Code (commonly known as the ``Privacy Act''),
in hiring actions in the civil service.
(b) Governmentwide Systems of Records at the Office.--
(1) In general.--The Director of the Office of Personnel
Management, in consultation with the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget, shall ensure that any system of
records notice updates required pursuant to the guidance
provided under subsection (a) account for any use of newer
technologies that capture records (as defined in section
552a(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code) in video, audio,
and video/audio combination formats and accommodate
maintenance of such video, audio, and video/audio combination
records.
(2) Evaluation for potential updates or revisions.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of
Personnel Management shall evaluate whether the
governmentwide System of Records Notices (referred to in this
paragraph as ``SORNs'') ``OPM/GOVT-5 Recruiting, Examining,
and Placement Records'' and ``OPM/GOVT-6 Personnel Research
and Test Validation Records'', or any successor materials
thereto, require updating or revision to implement the
purposes of this Act.
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(B) Issuance of updates or revisions; notice to congress.--
If the Director, after the evaluation under subparagraph (A),
finds that any updates or revisions to the SORNs identified
in that subparagraph are necessary and appropriate to support
implementation of this Act, the Director shall promptly--
(i) issue the updates or revisions; and
(ii) notify the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Kentucky (Mr. Comer) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.
General Leave
Mr. COMER. 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 this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Kentucky?
There was no objection.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, Congress is charged with overseeing the executive
branch. This includes overseeing the general management and operations
of government agencies.
For the success of our government's missions and Federal programs, we
must have a competent and skilled workforce to deliver services to the
American people, defend our Nation, and execute the laws passed by
Congress. However, agencies lack the tools to identify and hire the
best candidates to fill these positions.
The problem is that hiring for the Federal civil service has over-
relied on the paper credentials and self-administered job proficiency
assessments of candidates. The reintroduced Chance to Compete Act of
2023 ensures agencies use objective, skills-based assessments to
evaluate job candidates.
The private sector already uses such structured interviews, knowledge
tests, and writing samples for the hiring process. It is time for the
Federal Government to do so as well.
Agencies should be able to hire professionals that can do the work,
and there are many ways to build the right kind of professional
expertise. H.R. 159 represents one of those rare bipartisan legislative
reforms that targets a specific problem, implements tested solutions,
and reflects private-sector best practices.
The bill codifies and improves upon the policy initiatives begun in
the Trump administration and which the Biden administration is
continuing to implement.
I thank the chairwoman of the Committee on Education and Workforce,
Dr. Virginia Foxx, who is also a senior member of the House Oversight
Committee, and Congressman Gerry Connolly for working quickly to ready
this bipartisan bill.
I also thank Representative Ro Khanna for, again, supporting this
bill that will help us modernize our government.
I hope that our Senate colleagues can swiftly advance this important
legislation so that it can be signed into law this year.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important bill, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 159, the Chance to Compete
Act.
The bipartisan Chance to Compete Act was introduced by Representative
Foxx, who I see is here with us, and Representative Connolly. I thank
them both for their hard work on it.
The bill aims to make evaluations more useful in assessing the skills
of candidates for Federal positions and to alleviate inefficiencies
that have long hampered the hiring process.
The bill turns away from current reliance on self-assessment and
attainment of educational degrees to determine candidate qualifications
in the hiring process. Instead, subject matter experts and agencies
would design assessments that test specific knowledge for a position
for which the agency is hiring.
This overhaul would better match qualified applicants with positions
and expand opportunities to candidates with more diverse professional
and educational backgrounds.
The Chance to Compete Act aligns with the Office of Personnel
Management's guidance of last May to facilitate an executive order to
modernize the process of hiring Federal job candidates.
Establishing hiring methods that are more skills-based will improve
agency managers' ability to hire people who possess the knowledge and
experience to do the job and to hire from a wider array of qualified
applicants.
The bill also directs OPM to create an online platform for sharing
candidate assessments between agencies and maintain a portal for hiring
managers to find candidates who have already demonstrated their
qualifications for certain positions but were not yet hired.
Under this legislation, agencies may assemble talent teams to support
this assessment of candidates in the hiring process. The OPM Director
would be required to submit annual progress reports to Congress on use
of the new assessments. After 5 years, the GAO would conduct a study of
the implementation of the Federal job assessment reforms and their
impacts on the hiring process.
This bill streamlines the hiring process for agencies and will
shorten the time it takes to bring new, well-qualified employees on
board.
I thank Dr. Foxx for her leadership in introducing it. The bill is
the result of constructive collaboration by several members of our
committee from both sides of the aisle, including Mr. Connolly.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting
this bipartisan measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, Republicans and Democrats can agree that every
hardworking, taxpaying American deserves a Federal Government that is
built upon a solid foundation that breathes efficiency and is peopled
by those with appropriate skills, not necessarily degrees.
To achieve that end, we must eliminate the bureaucratic snares that
have hamstrung the Federal hiring process over the course of decades,
and fast.
In its current state, this dilapidated and archaic hiring process
serves as a deterrent to attracting qualified and high-quality
candidates. The simple truth is that it seriously undermines the
Federal workforce's ability to serve the American people in both a
proper and efficient manner.
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that something must be done to turn the
tide. That is precisely why I have introduced the Chance to Compete Act
of 2023 alongside Representative Gerry Connolly, Oversight and
Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, and Representative Ro
Khanna.
This legislation builds upon a solid record of bipartisan
collaboration and proven success in codifying key skills-based hiring
reforms.
More specifically, under this legislation, Federal agencies will be
able better to distinguish practical performers in a field of
candidates and focus on hiring individuals who can perform at the
highest level in the jobs they assume within the Federal Government.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to
support this much-needed bipartisan legislation.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for
closing.
Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to support passage of this bipartisan
legislation. It is an auspicious way for us to begin on the Oversight
Committee. I salute the chairman for his wisdom in bringing this
forward, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense bill aimed at hiring
applicants for Federal positions based on whether they have the
relevant skills to do the job. The American people deserve nothing less
from their Federal Government.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 159, the
Chance to Compete Act of 2023, as amended, that implements
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merit-based reforms to the civil service hiring system and would
replace degree-based hiring with skills- and competency-based hiring.
It is critically important that we make skills- and competency-based
hiring, the fundamental method of assessment for hiring in the
competitive civil service.
No person, with the requisite skill, training, and competency should
be prevented from securing a job because of a requirement that they
hold a higher education degree.
As modern industry and technology evolve, so too do the pathways to
professional achievement.
Recently, apprenticeship programs are an increasingly viable
alternative to a traditional degree as they give students new
opportunities to gain both knowledge of the subject matter and a skill
set tailored specifically to their chosen profession.
These programs allow them to pursue jobs which align with their
passions and strengths while still providing the students with
important recognition in the form of a certificate which demonstrates
their expertise in the field.
Undeniably, these skills focused models have opened doors for many
who have been marginalized economically--giving them access to well-
deserved dignity and success within their communities.
It is past time that the competitive civil service do away with
degree requirements and make skills- and competency-based hiring the
fundamental method of assessment.
This change will expand the pipeline of candidates who can access the
competitive civil service jobs.
I have long been a champion of education and workforce development.
Several institutions in my district, including Houston Independent
School District, Lone Star College, and Houston Community College have
very successful trade and skills and based training programs.
These programs cover the gamut from culinary arts to auto-mechanic
programs, to certificate programs for estheticians.
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey, killed 67 people, flooded 154,000 homes
and 500,000 vehicles, and inflicted $125 billion in damage, primarily
from catastrophic rainfall--triggering the worst flooding in the
Houston metropolitan area history.
In the aftermath, I advocated for funding for Houston Community
College for a water disaster resilience training, certification and
onboarding of skills, technologies, and training for first responders
and the public to better prepare for the unique challenges posed by
massive urban flood events.
This and other programs offer the opportunity to gain practical and
in-demand skills needed to build a successful career in todays economy.
The Chance to Compete Act of 2023 will open new pathways for those
without a degree, and allow them to access job roles in the competitive
civil service that may have otherwise been inaccessible which gives
them the opportunity to advance their lives and careers.
Furthermore, access to jobs in the competitive civil service based on
skill and competency will grant people an unprecedented level of access
to the dignity of work that fulfills a great need in today's society.
We must remain committed to recognizing the power and potential of
non-degree based assessments for access to new employment paths,
especially in light of today's changing job market.
Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, the civil service is the lifeblood of our
government and provides taxpayers, small businesses, and vulnerable
populations vital resources and services throughout the country.
As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations for the past
4 years, I held a series of hearings focused on revitalizing and
rejuvenating the federal workforce.
What we found is that proposals like Chance to Compete should exist
in a constellation of improvements to federal workforce recruitment
that includes better pay, reforming federal internships to improve the
intern to employee pipeline, and remaining competitive with the private
sector in areas such as hybrid work--all of which are the subjects of
legislation produced by the Government Operations Subcommittee last
Congress (FAIR Act, Next Gen Feds Act, and Telework and Metrics Cost
Savings Act).
I am proud to be the lead-cosponsor of the Chance to Compete Act,
which leverages skill assessments to build a more competitive,
equitable, and inclusive workforce.
This bill has bipartisan support and through demonstration projects
at agencies proven empirical success.
In short, this legislation allows an agency that has an open position
to develop a skills-based assessment to evaluate candidates in a way
that goes above and beyond the traditional review of past work and
education experience.
Furthermore, this bill:
Enables agencies to share their assessment findings with other
agencies, streamlining the overall hiring process and ensuring
competitive candidates do not fall between the cracks if they have
already proven their ability to perform.
And deploys talent teams at agencies to ensure the development and
implementation of the goals of this bill.
I thank Representative Virginia Foxx, for her hard work and
leadership on this bill as well as the American Federation of
Government Employees (AFGE), Partnership for Public Service (PPS), the
Senior Executives Association (SEA), Professional Managers Association
(PMA), and others who have endorsed this legislation.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 159, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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