[Senate Report 117-204]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 556
117th Congress      }                                    {      Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                                    {     117-204
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



              FACILITATING FEDERAL EMPLOYEE RESKILLING ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                S. 1330

           TO FACILITATE THE RESKILLING OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES,
                         AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES






[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]








               November 17, 2022.--Ordered to be printed 
               
                             _________
                              
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
39-010                   WASHINGTON : 2022
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                   GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California             MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                    Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
            Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs
              Devin M. Parsons, Professional Staff Member
                    Gauri Verma, Research Assistant
                Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
            Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
       Cara G. Mumford, Minority Director of Governmental Affairs
                  Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk








                                                      Calendar No. 556
117th Congress      }                                    {      Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                                    {     117-204

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



 
              FACILITATING FEDERAL EMPLOYEE RESKILLING ACT

                                _______
                                

               November 17, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1330]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1330) to facilitate 
the reskilling of Federal employees, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends that the 
bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                     Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................  1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................  1
III. Legislative History..............................................  3
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............  3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................  4
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................  4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............  7

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    S. 1330, the Facilitating Federal Employee Reskilling Act, 
sets requirements and guardrails for federal reskilling 
programs and incentivizes employee participation.

              II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

    Employee reskilling or upskilling has long been a focus of 
the private sector in response to economic disruptions in 
traditional industries. According to Deloitte's 2020 Global 
Human Capital Trends survey, 53 percent of respondents said 
that at least half of their workforce will need to develop new 
skills and capabilities in the next three years.\1\ Reskilling 
these employees is viewed as a key worker retention and 
workforce resiliency measure.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Deloitte, Deloitte Insights, The Social Enterprise at Work: 
Paradox as a Path Forward (2020) (https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/
insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2020/technology-and-the-social-
enterprise.html).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    These issues are not unique to private industry. In its 
latest High Risk List, the Government Accountability Office 
(GAO) once again included Strategic Human Capital Management as 
a high risk area, citing persistent critical skills gaps at 
Federal agencies as one of the biggest challenges facing the 
Federal workforce.\2\ The shortage of cybersecurity 
professionals in government is well-documented and much-
discussed; however, GAO reports that many science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations also suffer 
from critical gaps.\3\ Though there are some ongoing efforts on 
the part of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to address 
these challenges, GAO makes clear that more must be done.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\Government Accountability Office, High-Risk Series: Dedicated 
Leadership Needed to Address Limited Progress in Most High-Risk Areas 
(GAO-21-119SP) (Mar. 2021).
    \3\Id, at 50.
    \4\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In 2018, the President's Management Agenda prioritized 
reskilling of Federal employees as a method for building a 
modern IT workforce and promoting an agile and efficient 
Federal workforce.\5\ The Administration subsequently 
established the Federal Cybersecurity Reskilling Academy, which 
welcomed its inaugural cohort of 30 federal employees 
representing multiple agencies in April 2019.\6\ Since most of 
the participants were mid-career employees without IT 
backgrounds, upon completion of the program those employees 
were only qualified for entry-level cybersecurity positions, 
which paid significantly less than their current positions.\7\ 
Because this established a clear disincentive to seek a new 
position in cybersecurity, the program did not result in new 
positions for the participants.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\Office of Management and Budget, General Services 
Administration, President's Management Agenda (2018) (https://
trumpadministration.archives.performance.gov/PMA/Presidents_
Management_Agenda.pdf).
    \6\Government Accountability Office, Federal Management: Selected 
Reforms Could Be Strengthened By Following Additional Planning, 
Communication, and Leadership Practices (GAO-20-322) (Apr. 2020).
    \7\Merit Systems Protection Board, Issues of Merit Newsletter (Jan. 
2020) (https://www.mspb.gov/studies/newsletters/
Issues_of_Merit_January_2020_1692810.pdf).
    \8\Senate Panel Advances Measures to Reskill Feds, Ban Their TikTok 
Use, Government Executive (May 12, 2021) (https://www.govexec.com/
workforce/2021/05/senate-panel-advances-measures-reskill-feds-ban-
their-tiktok-use/173986/).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The National Commission on Military, National, and Public 
Service highlighted the need to reskill the Federal workforce 
in its report to Congress, and specifically proposed 
legislation to fix the grade level issue encountered by the 
Federal Cybersecurity Reskilling Academy participants.\9\ This 
proposal served as the basis for S. 1330.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\Inspired to Serve: The Final Report of the National Commission 
on Military, National, and Public Service. National Commission on 
Military, National, and Public Service (Mar. 2020) (https://
inspire2serve.gov/sites/default/files/final-report/Final%20Report.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Facilitating Federal Employee Reskilling Act authorizes 
OPM to regulate Federal reskilling programs across the 
government and puts in place commonsense standards for such 
programs, including a requirement to allow Federal employees to 
retain their grade-level when transferring to a new position 
that utilizes skills gained from a reskilling program. It also 
directs OPM to develop reporting requirements for reskilling 
programs, which will allow Congress to more closely monitor the 
progress of these programs.

                        III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) introduced S. 1330, the 
Facilitating Federal Employee Reskilling Act, on April 22, 
2021, with Senator James Lankford (R-OK). The bill was referred 
to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
on April 22, 2021.
    The Committee considered S. 1330 at a business meeting on 
May 12, 2021. The legislation was ordered reported favorably by 
voice vote en bloc as amended by a Sinema-Lankford Substitute 
Amendment, as modified. The Amendment made several technical 
edits to ensure the bill meets the goal of allowing federal 
employees who complete a reskilling program to maintain their 
grade in pay in a new position. Senators Peters, Carper, 
Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, Johnson, Paul, 
Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley were present when the bill 
was ordered reported.

        IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title

    This section established the short title of the bill as the 
``Facilitating Federal Employee Reskilling Act.''

Section 2. Reskilling Federal employees

    Subsection (a) defines the terms ``agency,'' ``appropriate 
committees of Congress,'' ``competitive service,'' 
``Director,'' ``employee,'' ``excepted service,'' and ``Federal 
reskilling program.''
    Subsection (b) establishes requirements for Federal 
reskilling programs. Federal reskilling programs must be 
implemented in a manner consistent with both the merit system 
principles set forth under section 2301 of title 5, as well as 
the bar on prohibited personnel practices provided under 
section 2302 of title 5. Federal reskilling programs must also 
include appropriate limitations on implementation under 
subsection (e) and track outcomes in accordance with the 
metrics established under subsection (c).
    Programs must: provide that participating employees are 
transferred to new positions which utilize the skills acquired 
in the program; allow for employees to return to their original 
position if unsuccessful in a new position; require that 
employees who successfully complete a reskilling program are 
able to maintain their original position grade when transferred 
to a new position; prohibit an employee serving in the excepted 
service from transferring to a position in the competitive 
service solely by reason of completion of the reskilling 
program.
    Subsection (c) requires that, within a year of enactment, 
the Director of the Office of Personnel Management establish 
reporting requirements for Federal reskilling programs, which 
shall include: (1) a summary of the program; (2) demographic 
and employment data for employee applications, participation, 
and completion of the program; (3) attrition rates of employees 
who have completed the program; and (4) any other information 
that the Director determines to be relevant.
    Subsection (d) requires that, within three years of 
enactment, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
submit a report to Congress on Federal reskilling programs. 
This report will include information on recruitment and 
diversity within Federal reskilling programs, an evaluation of 
the effectiveness of the program, as well as any 
recommendations to improve the programs.
    Subsection (e) requires that, within a year of enactment, 
the Director of OPM prescribe regulations for reporting 
requirements under subsection (c). Under this subsection, the 
Director may prescribe additional regulations regarding Federal 
reskilling programs as deemed necessary. The Director must 
brief congressional committees at least 30 days before any 
final regulations under this subsection are published.
    Subsection (f) clarifies that this legislation does not 
require the head of an agency to establish a Federal reskilling 
program.
    Subsection (g) requires that any Federal reskilling 
programs must be carried out using amounts otherwise made 
available to the relevant agency head.

                   V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, November 9, 2022.
Hon. Gary C. Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed table summarizing estimated budgetary 
effects and mandates information for some of the legislation 
that has been ordered reported by the Senate Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during the 117th 
Congress.
    If you wish further details, we will be pleased to provide 
them. The CBO staff contact for each estimate is listed on the 
enclosed table.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

           SUMMARY ESTIMATES OF LEGISLATION ORDERED REPORTED

    The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the 
Congressional Budget Office, to the extent practicable, to 
prepare estimates of the budgetary effects of legislation 
ordered reported by Congressional authorizing committees. In 
order to provide the Congress with as much information as 
possible, the attached table summarizes information about the 
estimated direct spending and revenue effects of some of the 
legislation that has been ordered reported by the Senate 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during 
the 117th Congress. The legislation listed in this table 
generally would have small effects, if any, on direct spending 
or revenues, CBO estimates. Where possible, the table also 
provides information about the legislation's estimated effects 
on spending subject to appropriation and on intergovernmental 
and private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act.

                                                  ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS AND MANDATES INFORMATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                       Increases
                                                               Direct                 Spending Subject   Pay-As-You-   On-Budget
   Bill        Title        Status      Last      Budget     Spending,    Revenues,          to              Go         Deficits    Mandates    Contact
  Number                               Action    Function    2023-2032    2023-2032    Appropriation,    Procedures    Beginning
                                                                                          2023-2027        Apply?       in 2033?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S. 1330    Facilitating   Ordered     05/12/21  800         Between      0            Not estimated     Yes           No           No          Matthew
            Federal        reported                          zero and                                                                           Pickford
            Employee                                         $500,000
            Reskilling
            Act
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S. 1330 would direct the Office of Personnel Management to oversee programs across the government aimed at developing skills that would qualify
  employees for new jobs. Under the bill, at the end of their training, employees could return to their previous job or transfer to a new position at
  the same grade that uses their newly acquired skills. The Government Accountability Office would be required to report on the program within three
  years. CBO estimates that enacting S. 1330 would have an insignificant effect on direct spending and no effect on revenues over the 2023-2032 period.
  CBO has not estimated the discretionary costs of implementing the bill. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined
  in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

       VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    Because S. 1330 would not repeal or amend any provision of 
current law, it would make no changes in existing law within 
the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12 of rule XXVI 
of the Standing Rules of the Senate.

                                  [all]