[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 118 (Monday, July 22, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H4711-H4712]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1930
ALLOWING CONTRACTORS TO CHOOSE EMPLOYEES FOR SELECT SKILLS ACT
Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 7887) to amend title 41, United States Code, to prohibit minimum
experience or educational requirements for proposed contractor
personnel in certain contract solicitations, and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 7887
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 ``Allowing Contractors to
Choose Employees for Select Skills Act'' or the ``ACCESS
Act''.
SEC. 2. USE OF REQUIREMENTS REGARDING EDUCATION OF CONTRACTOR
PERSONNEL.
(a) Flexibility in Contractor Education Requirements.--
Chapter 33 of title 41, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 3313. Flexibility in contractor education requirements
``(a) Prohibition.--A solicitation may not set forth any
minimum educational requirement for proposed contractor
personnel in order for a bidder to be eligible for award of a
contract unless the contracting officer includes in the
solicitation a written justification that explains why the
needs of the executive agency cannot be met without any such
requirement and clarifies how the requirement ensures the
needs are met.
``(b) Executive Agency Defined.--In this section, the term
`executive agency' has the meaning given that term in section
133.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of
sections for chapter 33 of title 41, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``3313. Flexibility in contractor education requirements.''.
(c) OMB Guidance.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall issue guidance to the heads of
executive agencies for implementing the amendment made by
subsection (a) that includes the following:
(1) Instructions for contracting officers for the
justifications under section 3313(a) of title 41, United
States Code, as added by subsection (a), including a
requirement that each use of an education requirement be
determined, justified, and reviewed.
(2) In the case of a solicitation in which education
requirements are included, instructions on how alternative
certifications, industry-recognized credentials, and work-
based learning programs, including apprenticeships, may
satisfy such requirements.
(d) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply with respect to solicitations issued on or after
the date that is 15 months after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(e) Repeal.--Section 813 of the Floyd D. Spence National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law
106-398; 114 Stat. 1654A-214), as implemented in subpart
39.104 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, as in effect on
July 1, 2024, is repealed as of the date that the guidance
required by subsection (c) becomes effective.
(f) GAO Report.--Not later than 36 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall
submit to Congress an evaluation of executive agency
compliance with section 3313 of title 41, United States Code,
as added by subsection (a).
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Education requirement.--The term ``education
requirement'' includes a requirement that can be met either
through--
(A) education alone;
(B) education or experience; or
(C) a combination of education and experience.
(2) Executive agency.--The term ``executive agency'' has
the meaning given that term in section 133 of title 41,
United States Code.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
South Carolina (Ms. Mace) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from South Carolina.
General Leave
Ms. MACE. 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
gentlewoman from South Carolina?
There was no objection.
Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the Federal contractor workforce is several times larger
than the 2 million strong civilian workforce the Federal Government
employs today. That is because so much government work is outsourced.
That includes, for instance, much of the operation and maintenance of
the Federal IT systems and the safeguarding of their cybersecurity.
It was disturbing for me to learn, in the course of my work this
Congress as chair of the Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on
Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, that
many Federal contract solicitations bar qualified individuals from
performing the work.
What are these barriers? Many Federal solicitations include
unnecessary degree requirements mandating that individuals who perform
various tasks hold specific education credentials such as a 4-year
college degree, but training for many jobs in fields like IT and
building construction is increasingly available through nondegree
pathways like apprenticeships, boot camps, or certifications.
That is why a slew of major private-sector employees have pared back
degree requirements in hiring in recent years. In fact, some of our
biggest tech companies offer certification programs within their own
companies to help their individuals be even more qualified for jobs
that are available to them.
When it comes to cybersecurity, the public and private sectors
together face
[[Page H4712]]
a shortage of roughly 700,000 workers. Clearly, the Federal Government
cannot afford to erect unnecessary hurdles that prohibit those with the
necessary technical skills and desire from doing such work simply
because they lack a traditional degree.
The companies who employ them, those that offer apprenticeships and
engage in skills-based hiring, should be encouraged to compete for
government contracts and not be excluded from competition.
This bill helps ensure that Federal contractors are permitted to hire
qualified professionals with the necessary knowledge, the necessary
skills, and the necessary drive, even if they lack a traditional 4-year
degree.
The bill does this by prohibiting contract officers from stipulating
education requirements for contract employees without providing a
written justification for doing so. That justification must show that
education is necessary in order to perform the work and meet the needs
of the agency.
To be clear, this bill in no way tells Federal contractors how to
actually hire their staff. Rather, it removes an unnecessary
restriction on their ability to hire qualified individuals.
The Federal Government shouldn't be barring from consideration for
work qualified individuals who acquire their skills through alternative
training. They deserve a chance at a job. They deserve a chance to
compete.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this timely, necessary,
and bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 7887, the ACCESS Act, which is intended to
address degree inflation, the growing trend of college graduates
filling jobs that don't require college degrees. This can lead to
reduced earnings for college degree holders, reduced employment
opportunities for nondegree holders, and an overall drag on the economy
in a time of very low unemployment, like ours, and of labor shortages.
Committee Democrats are supportive of efforts to eliminate minimum
education and experience requirements for jobs that don't actually
require such associated skills for successful performance, expanding
opportunity for the more than 62 percent of the population, age 25 and
older, who do not hold a bachelor's degree.
The ACCESS Act would prohibit Federal agencies from specifying
minimum educational requirements for contractor personnel in
solicitations, unless the solicitation also includes a written
justification explaining why such requirements are actually necessary.
I had been concerned that this might create a blanket requirement
that could be unnecessarily burdensome for Federal agencies in the
instances in which minimum education or experience requirements are
commonly and reasonably understood to be necessary, but changes made to
the bill after our committee markup have alleviated those concerns.
There are certainly some jobs for which some minimum education or
experience appears to be totally unnecessary. For example,
approximately 39 percent of postings for construction managers require
a college degree, as do 52 percent of web developer postings and 34
percent of distribution manager postings.
This suggests that these roles are frequently performed in the
economy totally successfully without a college degree and that the
requirement is more about the subjective preference or traditions of
the employer than the actual demands of the job. It makes sense for
agency contracting officers to have to provide a written justification
for choosing to require that contractors hire only college degree
holders for such jobs, as this bill would require.
However, there are also an array of jobs for which some minimum
education or experience requirements are indeed necessary. For example,
in 2022, the Federal Government spent almost $30 billion on medical
services contracts and another $29 billion on engineering and technical
support services contracts. We do not want our contracting officers to
have to provide a written explanation every single time they put out a
solicitation that requires healthcare and engineering professionals to
have advanced higher education degrees, and the bill has been
appropriately and gratefully refined to eliminate this unnecessary
burden.
I understand that the North America's Building Trades Unions have
expressed concerns about just this point, but in cases where highly
trained and educated Federal contractors are required to perform
technical, scientific, and professional services, nothing in the bill
would prevent the hiring of such individuals.
I am happy to continue supporting this legislation as an important
step to expand opportunity to more Americans and to welcome more talent
in service to our country.
I thank Chairwoman Mace and Chairman Comer for working with us to
improve the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I am prepared to
close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 7887, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill to
ensure that contract employees with the right skills can work for the
Federal Government regardless if they have a traditional 4-year degree.
I thank Ranking Member Raskin and all of my colleagues on the
Oversight Committee who voted this out of the committee for their
bipartisan support. This doesn't hurt jobs. This helps people get jobs,
even if they don't have a 4-year degree, whether they are joined to a
labor union or not.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the support of Mr. Raskin, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from South Carolina (Ms. Mace) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7887, 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. NORCROSS. 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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