[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2576-S2577]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 395. Mr. LANKFORD submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. BLENDED FEDERAL WORKFORCE.

       (a) In General.--Section 1103(c) of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) by striking ``(c)(1)'' and inserting ``(c)(1)(A)''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(B)(i) The Office of Personnel Management shall collect 
     from Executive agencies, other than elements of the 
     intelligence community (as defined in section 3(4) of the 
     National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))), on at 
     least an annual basis the following:
       ``(I) The total number of persons employed directly by the 
     Executive agency.
       ``(II) The total number of prime contractor employees and 
     subcontractor employees, as those terms are defined in 
     section 8701 of title 41, issued credentials allowing access 
     to Executive agency property or computer systems.
       ``(III) The total number of employees of Federal grant and 
     cooperative agreement recipients, as those legal instruments 
     are described in sections 6304 and 6305 of title 31, 
     respectively, who are issued credentials allowing access to 
     Executive agency property or computer systems.
       ``(IV) A total count of the workforce of the Executive 
     agency, including employees, prime contractor employees, 
     subcontractor employees, grantee employees, and cooperative 
     agreement employees.
       ``(ii) The Office of Personnel Management shall compile the 
     data collected under clause (i) and issue, and post on its 
     website, an annual report containing the data.''; and
       (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``paragraph (1)'' and 
     inserting ``paragraph (1)(A)''.
       (b) Sense of Congress on Effective and Efficient Management 
     of the Blended Federal Workforce.--
       (1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``Executive 
     agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 105 of 
     title 5, United States Code.
       (2) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (A) The implementation of Federal laws and the competent 
     administration of Federal programs require skilled and 
     capable personnel.
       (B) Executive agencies depend on a blended workforce that 
     includes Federal employees, employees of prime contractors 
     and subcontractors performing services to Executive agencies, 
     and employees of State or local governments, nonprofit 
     organizations, or institutions of higher education performing 
     services to Executive agencies under the terms of grants and 
     cooperative agreements (in this subsection referred to as 
     ``grantees''), all of whom make essential contributions to 
     achieving the missions of the Government in service to the 
     people of the United States.
       (C) Approximately 2,000,000 Federal employees help to 
     execute the laws of the United States, supplemented by an 
     unknown number, estimated to exceed 5,000,000, of employees 
     of prime contractors, subcontractors, and grantees providing 
     services to Executive agencies.
       (D) Policymakers, Executive agencies, and observers have 
     often focused on individual components of the blended 
     workforce, such as employees, without considering all 
     components or considering the entire blended workforce and 
     how all 3 components can work most effectively together.
       (E) Executive agencies inhibit their own workforce planning 
     and risk making decisions that may reduce the overall 
     efficiency and cost effectiveness of the blended workforce by 
     focusing on only 1 component in isolation.
       (F) Establishing artificial limits on headcounts or full-
     time equivalent positions for Federal employees, 
     administrators, and managerial employees of Executive 
     agencies may discourage the employment of interns or entry-
     level employees to build a balanced employment pipeline and 
     may inadvertently encourage managers to shift work to 
     contractors and grantees for the purpose of complying with 
     such numerical limits, even if those decisions are not 
     justified by an approach to improve the efficiency or cost 
     effectiveness of the Executive agency's work.
       (G) The Government Accountability Office has identified 
     strategic human capital management as a high-risk area for 
     the Federal Government, adding that critical skills gaps 
     ``impede the government from cost-effectively serving the 
     public and achieving results''.

[[Page S2577]]

       (3) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     Executive agencies should--
       (A) manage the entire Federal blended workforce, including 
     employees, contractors, and grantees, using a comprehensive 
     and holistic approach to advance their missions as 
     effectively and cost efficiently as possible, within 
     appropriated budgets and without using artificial numerical 
     limits on headcounts or full-time-equivalent positions; and
       (B) conduct a holistic review of their blended workforce 
     and develop a comprehensive plan to ensure an efficient and 
     cost-effective blended workforce.
                                 ______