[House Report 110-479]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    110-479

======================================================================



 
 AMENDMENT TO SECTION 3328 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, RELATING TO 
                     SELECTIVE SERVICE REGISTRATION

                                _______
                                

 December 10, 2007.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Waxman, from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 4108]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 4108) to amend section 3328 of 
title 5, United States Code, relating to Selective Service 
registration, having considered the same, report favorably 
thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Legislative History..............................................     2
Section-by-Section...............................................     2
Explanation of Amendments........................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Rollcall Votes...................................................     3
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch.....................     3
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the 
  Committee......................................................     3
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     3
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     3
Federal Advisory Committee Act...................................     3
Unfunded Mandate Statement.......................................     3
Earmark Identification...........................................     4
Committee Estimate...............................................     4
Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate...     4
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5
Additional Views.................................................     7

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 4108, a bill to amend section 3328 of title 5, U.S.C., 
relating to Selective Service registration, was introduced on 
November 7, 2007, by Reps George Miller and Darrell Issa. The 
legislation would provide for exemptions from determinations of 
ineligibility for federal employment for individuals who have 
received an honorable discharge from the armed services or who 
have performed at least ten years of federal service.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Under current law, all males born after December 31, 1959, 
must register with the Selective Service by their 26th birthday 
in order to be eligible for employment in the federal 
government. An individual who has not registered with the 
Selective Service is not eligible for federal employment unless 
he can prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the 
failure to register was neither knowing nor willful. This means 
that the individual must prove to a high legal standard that he 
did not know he was required to register or thought he had 
registered. H.R. 4108 would exempt from this requirement 
individuals who were honorable discharged from the armed 
services or who have 10 years of service in the federal 
government.

                          Legislative History

    H.R. 4108, a bill to amend section 3328 of title 5, U.S.C., 
relating to Selective Service registration, was introduced on 
November 7, 2007, and referred to the Committee on Oversight 
and Government Reform. The Committee held a markup to consider 
H.R. 4108 on November 8, 2007, and ordered the bill to be 
reported by voice vote. During the markup, the Chairman and 
other members of the Committee agreed to consider changes to 
the legislation suggested by the Director of the Selective 
Service System.

                           Section-by-Section


Section 1. Selective Service Registration

    Section 1 of the bill amends section 3328 of title 5 to 
require the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe 
regulations which provide for exceptions to determinations of 
ineligibility for federal employment due to a failure to 
register with the Selective Service for individuals who have 
received an honorable discharge from the armed services or who 
have performed at least 10 years of federal service. The bill 
also makes certain technical drafting changes to this section 
of existing law.

                       Explanation of Amendments

    No amendments to this bill were offered in the Committee, 
however a manager's amendment incorporating suggestions from 
the Director of the Selective Service System may be considered 
when the bill is considered in the House.

                        Committee Consideration

    On Thursday, November 8, 2007, the Committee ordered the 
bill reported to the House by a voice vote.

                             Rollcall Votes

    No rollcall votes were taken on this legislation.

              Application of Law to the Legislative Branch

    Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a 
description of the application of this bill to the legislative 
branch where the bill relates to the terms and conditions of 
employment or access to public services and accommodations. 
Amendments made by this bill would apply only to executive 
branch employees. As such this bill does not relate to the 
legislative branch.

  Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
(2)(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee's oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the descriptive portions of 
this report.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee's performance 
goals and objectives are reflected in the descriptive portions 
of this report, and include enhancing the efficiency of the 
federal government.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Under clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, the Committee must include a statement 
citing the specific powers granted to Congress to enact the law 
proposed by H.R. 4108. Article I, section 8, clause 18 of the 
Constitution of the United States grants the Congress the power 
to enact this law.

                     Federal Advisory Committee Act

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish 
or authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within 
the definition of 5 U.S.C. App., section 5(b).

                       Unfunded Mandate Statement

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act (as amended by section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded 
Mandate Reform Act, P.L. 104-4) requires a statement whether 
the provisions of the reported bill include unfunded mandates. 
In compliance with this requirement the Committee has received 
a letter from the Congressional Budget Office included herein.

                         Earmark Identification

    H.R. 1255 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI.

                           Committee Estimate

    Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 4108. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides 
that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has 
included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the 
bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act.

     Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received 
the following cost estimate for H.R. 4108 from the Director of 
Congressional Budget Office:

                                                 November 15, 2007.
Hon. Henry A. Waxman,
Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4108, a bill to 
amend section 3328 of title 5, United States Code, relating to 
Selective Service registration.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                                   Peter R. Orszag.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 4108--A bill to amend section 3328 of title 5, United States Code, 
        relating to Selective Service registration

    H.R. 4108 would amend current law and regulations regarding 
federal employment and the requirement to register with the 
Selective Service System. The Selective Service is a system for 
identifying candidates for compulsory military service. Under 
current law, all males born after December 31, 1959, must 
register with the Selective Service by their 26th birthday to 
be eligible for federal employment. Individuals employed by the 
federal government who have not registered with the Selective 
Service may be terminated from federal employment unless 
granted a waiver by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
    H.R. 4108 would allow certain employees who failed to 
register with the Selective Service to continue their federal 
employment. Specifically, federal employees who did not 
register with the Selective Service but were honorably 
discharged from military service would not be terminated, nor 
would federal employees with at least 10 years of exemplary 
government service.
    Information from OPM indicates that only a small number of 
employees are identified as unregistered with the Selective 
Service in the course of their employment with the federal 
government. Thus, CBO estimates that enacting this legislation 
would have no significant impact on the federal budget. H.R. 
4108 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 
as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not 
affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


PART III--EMPLOYEES

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SUBPART B--EMPLOYMENT AND RETENTION

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 33--EXAMINATION, SELECTION, AND PLACEMENT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SUBCHAPTER I--EXAMINATION, CERTIFICATION, AND APPOINTMENT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 3328. Selective Service registration

  (a) * * *
  [(b) The Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with 
the Director of the Selective Service System, shall prescribe 
regulations to carry out this section. Such regulations shall 
include provisions prescribing procedures for the adjudication 
of determinations of whether a failure to register was knowing 
and willful. Such procedures shall require that such a 
determination may not be made if the individual concerned shows 
by a preponderance of the evidence that the failure to register 
was neither knowing nor willful. Such procedures may provide 
that determinations of eligibility under the requirements of 
this section shall be adjudicated by the Executive agency 
making the appointment for which the eligibility is 
determined.]
  (b) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in 
consultation with the Director of the Selective Service System, 
shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section. Such 
regulations--
          (1) shall include procedures--
                  (A) for the adjudication of determinations of 
                whether a failure to register was knowing and 
                willful; and
                  (B) under which such a determination may not 
                be made if the individual concerned shows by a 
                preponderance of the evidence that the failure 
                to register was neither knowing nor willful;
          (2) may provide that determinations of eligibility 
        under the requirements of this section shall be 
        adjudicated by the Executive agency making the 
        appointment for which the eligibility is determined; 
        and
          (3) shall provide for exceptions to determinations of 
        ineligibility under this section to allow for--
                  (A) the appointment of an individual who was 
                discharged or released from active duty in the 
                armed forces under honorable conditions; and
                  (B) the continued employment of an 
                individual, notwithstanding an appointment for 
                which such individual was ineligible under 
                subsection (a), if--
                          (i) such individual has performed at 
                        least 10 years of civilian service with 
                        1 or more Executive agencies;
                          (ii) such individual's most recent 
                        performance rating was at least fully 
                        successful (or the equivalent); and
                          (iii) the employing agency determines 
                        that such individual's continued 
                        employment would be in the best 
                        interests of the Government.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF CHAIRMAN WAXMAN, RANKING MEMBER TOM DAVIS, AND REP. 
                              DARRELL ISSA

    Immediately prior to the business meeting held to consider 
H.R. 4801, the Selective Service System sent the Committee 
suggestions to improve the bill. While there was not time to 
incorporate these suggestions into the bill reported by the 
Committee, the Chairman and other members agreed to further 
consider the suggestions as the bill moved forward in the 
legislative process.
    As passed by the Committee, the bill would require the 
Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations which 
would provide for exceptions to determinations of ineligibility 
for federal employment due to a failure to register with the 
Selective Service for individuals who have performed at least 
ten years of federal service. As suggested by the Selective 
Service System, the manager's amendment to the bill will delete 
this requirement and instead provide for an exemption for 
individuals who have reached 31 years of age.
    The Selective Service notes that the primary purpose of 5 
U.S.C. 3328 was to improve the effectiveness of the Selective 
Service registration system. It is the position of the 
Selective Service that the existing lifelong ban on federal 
employment for individuals who failed to register and are 
unable to show that their failure was not knowing and willful 
serves no useful registration purpose or any public policy 
benefit. The Selective Service believes that limiting the ban 
to five years after the age an individual is no longer legally 
able to register (age 26) would have no tangible impact on its 
registration compliance program. This limit would also coincide 
with the statute of limitations for prosecuting an individual 
for failure to register (age 31). The proposed manager's 
amendment would also alleviate the administrative burden that 
has been placed on the Office of Personnel Management to 
adjudicate claims of job applicants and current employees.

                                   Henry A. Waxman.
                                   Tom Davis.
                                   Darrell E. Issa.

                                  
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