Chance to Compete Act of 2022

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6967) 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.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 6967.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6967, the Chance to Compete Act.

The bipartisan Chance to Compete Act was introduced by Representative Hice along with Representatives Khanna, Foxx, and Mfume. Representatives Mace and Subcommittee Chairman Connolly later joined the bill, as well.

This bill aims to make evaluations more useful in assessing the skills of candidates for Federal positions and alleviate inefficiencies that have long hindered the hiring process.

The bill turns away from the current reliance on self-assessment and attainment of an educational degree to determine candidate qualifications in the Federal hiring process. Instead, subject matter experts in agencies would design assessments that test knowledge specific to a position for which the agency is hiring.

This overhaul to the assessment method would better match qualified applicants with positions and expand employment opportunities to candidates with more diverse professional and educational backgrounds.

The Chance to Compete Act aligns with the Office of Personnel Management's guidance released in May to facilitate an executive order to modernize the process of assessing and 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 the Office of Personnel Management 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 hired.

Under this legislation, agencies may assemble talent teams to support this assessment of job candidates and the hiring process.

The OPM director would be required to submit annual progress reports to Congress on the use of the skills-based assessments. After 5 years, the Government Accountability Office would conduct a study of the implementation of the Federal job assessment reforms and their impact on the Federal hiring process.

This bill streamlines the hiring process for Federal agencies and shortens the time it takes to bring new, well-qualified employees on board.

The Senate companion to this bill, introduced by Senator Sinema, also enjoys bipartisan support.

I thank Representative Hice for his leadership in introducing this bill that is the result of constructive collaboration by several members of our committee from both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 6967, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6967, the Chance to Compete Act.

This bill is a good first step in reforming how we find and hire talent to the federal civil service and removes barriers that prevent agencies from recruiting the best talent.

The bill specifically eliminates antiquated hiring assessment tools, improves federal agencies' hiring process, and allows qualified applicants to compete for open positions across government. This bill will move government away from a focus on academic parchment to a prioritization on skills and expertise.

I'm proud to be a cosponsor of this bill, introduced by my Ranking Member Jody Hice and my Oversight colleague Ro Khanna.

The bill came to us from the Senate, less than perfect and opposed by the Administration.

But parties across both chambers worked together to draft an updated version of the bill that incorporates important feedback from the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget.

As currently drafted, the bill would:

Redefine competitive-service hiring applicant assessments to help agencies focus on candidates who can perform on the job.

Put subject-matter experts at the helm of hiring, empowering those who can best distinguish practical performers from the field of candidates.

Require OPM to begin a review of all federal ``duties'' that require an educational achievement level for hiring purposes, and then instructs OPM to make available online the data.

Clarify to agencies, Congress, and the public why some positions, like a doctor at the Department of Veterans Affairs, must have an advanced degree, while a cybersecurity expert at the Department of Homeland Security would benefit from a seasoned specialist, trained from the field.

Authorize ``talent teams'' in agency human resources offices-- ensuring each agency has a key group of staff focused on improving federal hiring.

I thank Ranking Member Hice for working with me to improve this bill and ensure it is policy that all stakeholders, including the Administration and our union partners, believe will improve how we find and recruit talent to the federal government.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, Congress is charged with overseeing the general management and operations of government agencies. For the success of each Federal program, 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 currently lack the tools to identify and hire the best candidates to fill the broad types of job positions supporting the Federal Government's various missions and programs.

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 Chance to Compete Act makes sure 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. 6967 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 policy initiatives begun in the Trump administration which the Biden administration is continuing to implement.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Maloney and Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Gerry Connolly for working diligently with the bill's cosponsor, Congressman Jody Hice, to strengthen this bipartisan bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Ro Khanna, Virginia Foxx, and Kweisi Mfume for their support. We hope that our Senate colleagues can rapidly advance this important legislation so it can be signed into law this year, and I urge my colleagues to support this smart reform bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Hice), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Government Operations.

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.

Madam Speaker, I was unable to cast votes on the following legislative measures. If I were present for roll call votes, I would have voted Aye for the following votes:

Roll 461, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 4900--SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022.

Roll 462, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, As Amended, H.R. 8466--Chai Suthammanont Healthy Federal Workplaces Act of 2022, as amended.

Roll 463, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 3470--End Human Trafficking in Government Contracts Act of 2022.

Roll 464, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 2551--AI Training Act.

Roll 465, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 958--Maximizing Outcomes through Better Investments in Lifesaving Equipment for (MOBILE) Health Care Act.

Roll 466, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, As Amended, H.R. 6965--Visit America Act, as amended.

Roll 467, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, As Amended, H.R. 7321--Global Aircraft Maintenance Safety Improvement Act, as amended.

Roll 468, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, As Amended, House Amendment to S. 3662--Preventing PFAS Runoff at Airports Act.

Roll 469, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, As Amended, H.R. 8888--Food Security for All Veterans Act.

Roll 470, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 2794--Supporting Families of the Fallen Act.

Roll 471, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, As Amended, H.R. 8446--Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2022, as amended.

Roll 472, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 8463--Millennium Challenge Corporation Eligibility Expansion Act.

Roll 473, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass Certain Bills and Concur in the Senate Amendments on H.R. 8956, H.R. 6967, H.R. 8163, H.R. 4081, H.R. 6889, H.R. 1638, Senate Amendment to

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the support and comments both from Ranking Member Comer and Chairwoman Maloney. I appreciate that a great deal.

The concept of this bill is quite simple. It allows us to hire applicants for Federal positions based on whether or not they have the skills for the job. It is really that simple.

Too frequently, the hiring process is based on whether or not someone has a degree whether or not that degree has anything to do with the specific position or not.

Currently, hiring managers also have to rely on self-assessments that are filled out by applicants to determine their strengths and weaknesses. Not surprisingly, those assessments also are likely not to work.

This Chance to Compete Act simply allows agencies to develop appropriate skills that are based on examinations so that the applicants show what they can do. Federal supervisors have said for a long time that their top concern is getting a pool of quality candidates to do the job, and this bill addresses that problem head-on.

It will facilitate agencies sharing information about candidates who have passed assessments, which will make the hiring process more efficient across the government, saving both time and money. It also creates teams of subject matter experts to help agencies create assessments that are geared for the job.

This builds off what was started in the Trump administration, and I likewise express my thanks to Representatives Khanna, Foxx, Mfume, and Mace for their cosponsorship, as well as Chairman Connolly, my colleague

from the Subcommittee on Government Operations.

This is good policy. It will help America's government work more efficiently.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this smart reform bill.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 10 of House Resolution 1396, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bills: H.R. 1638, H.R. 3304, H.R. 4081, H.R. 4821, H.R. 6889, H.R. 6967, H.R. 8163, H.R. 8510, H.R. 8681, H.R. 8875, H.R. 8956, and S. 1198, and concur in the Senate amendments to H.R. 5641.