S 1180 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide for greater diversity within, and to improve policy direction and oversight of, the Senior Executive Service.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

June 4, 2009CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. AKAKA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental AffairsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide for greater diversity within, and to improve policy direction and oversight of, the Senior Executive Service.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Senior Executive Service Diversity Assurance Act of 2009’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) according to the most recent findings from the Government Accountability Office--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) minorities made up 22.5 percent of the individuals serving at the GS-15 and GS-14 levels and 15.8 percent of the Senior Executive Service in 2007;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) women made up 34.3 percent of the individuals serving at the GS-15 and GS-14 levels and 29.1 percent of the Senior Executive Service in 2007; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) although the number of career Senior Executive Service members increased from 6,110 in 2,000 to 6,555 in 2007, the representation of African-American men in the career Senior Executive Service declined during that same period from 5.5 percent to 5.0 percent; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) according to the Office of Personnel Management--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) Black employees represented 6.1 percent of employees at the Senior Pay levels and 17.9 percent of the permanent Federal workforce compared to 10 percent in the civilian labor force in 2008;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) Hispanic employees represented 4.0 percent of employees at the Senior Pay levels and 7.9 percent of the permanent Federal workforce compared to 13.2 percent of the civilian labor force in 2008; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) women represented 29.1 percent of employees at the Senior Pay levels and 44.2 percent of the permanent Federal workforce compared to 45.6 percent of the civilian labor force in 2008.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of the Office of Personnel Management;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) the term ‘Senior Executive Service’ has the meaning given under section 2101a of title 5, United States Code;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) the terms ‘agency’, ‘career appointee’, and ‘career reserved position’ have the meanings given under section 3132 of title 5, United States Code; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) the term ‘SES Resource Office’ means the Senior Executive Service Resource Office established under section 4.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE RESOURCE OFFICE.

(a) Establishment- Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish within the Office of Personnel Management an office to be known as the Senior Executive Service Resource Office.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Mission- The mission of the SES Resource Office shall be to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity of the Senior Executive Service through policy formulation and oversight;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) advance the professionalism of the Senior Executive Service; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) ensure that, in seeking to achieve a Senior Executive Service reflective of the Nation’s diversity, recruitment is from qualified individuals from appropriate sources.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Functions-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- The functions of the SES Resource Office are to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) make recommendations to the Director with respect to regulations; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) provide guidance to agencies, concerning the structure, management, and diverse composition of the Senior Executive Service.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS- In order to carry out the purposes of this section, the SES Resource Office shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) take such actions as the SES Resource Office considers necessary to manage and promote an efficient, elite, and diverse corps of senior executives by--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) creating policies for the management and improvement of the Senior Executive Service;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) providing oversight of the performance, structure, and composition of the Senior Executive Service; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) providing guidance and oversight to agencies in the management of senior executives and candidates for the Senior Executive Service;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) be responsible for the policy development, management, and oversight of the Senior Executive Service pay and performance management system;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) develop standards for certification of each agency’s Senior Executive Service performance management system and evaluate all agency applications for certification;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) be responsible for coordinating, promoting, and monitoring programs for the advancement and training of senior executives, including the Senior Executive Service Federal Candidate Development Program;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) provide oversight of, and guidance to, agency executive resources boards;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(F) be responsible for the administration of the qualifications review board;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(G) establish and maintain annual statistics (in a form that renders such statistics useful to appointing authorities and candidates) on--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) the total number of career reserved positions at each agency;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) the total number of vacant career reserved positions at each agency;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) of the positions under clause (ii), the number for which candidates are being sought;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iv) the amount of time a career reserved position is vacant;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(v) the amount of time it takes to hire a candidate into a career reserved position;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(vi) the number of individuals who have been certified in accordance with section 3393(c) of title 5, United States Code, and the composition of that group of individuals with regard to race, ethnicity, sex, age, and individuals with disabilities;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(vii) the composition of the Senior Executive Service with regard to race, ethnicity, sex, age, and individuals with disabilities;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(viii) the composition of executive resources boards with regard to race, ethnicity, sex, and individuals with disabilities; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ix) the composition of qualifications review boards with regard to race, ethnicity, sex, and individuals with disabilities;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(H) make available to the public through the official public Internet site of the Office of Personnel Management, the data collected under subparagraph (G);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(I) establish and promote mentoring programs for potential candidates for the Senior Executive Service, including candidates who have been certified as having the executive qualifications necessary for initial appointment as a career appointee under a program established under to section 3396(a) of title 5, United States Code;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(J) conduct a continuing program for the recruitment of women, members of racial and ethnic minority groups, and individuals with disabilities for Senior Executive Service positions, with special efforts directed at recruiting from educational institutions, professional associations, and other sources;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(K) advise agencies on the best practices for an agency in utilizing or consulting with an agency’s equal employment or diversity office or official (if the agency has such an office or official) with regard to the agency’s Senior Executive Service appointments process; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(L) evaluate and implement strategies to ensure that agencies conduct appropriate outreach to other agencies to identify candidates for Senior Executive Service positions.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Protection of Individually Identifiable Information- For purposes of subsection (c)(2)(H), the SES Resource Office shall combine data for any agency that is not named in section 901(b) of chapter 31, United States Code, to protect individually identifiable information.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(e) Cooperation of Agencies- The head of each agency shall provide the Office of Personnel Management with such information as the SES Resource Office may require in order to carry out subsection (c)(2)(G).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(f) Staffing- The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall make such appointments as necessary to staff the SES Resource Office.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 5. CAREER APPOINTMENTS.

(a) Promoting Diversity in the Career Appointments Process- Section 3393(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the first sentence the following: ‘In establishing an executive resources board, the head of the agency shall, to the extent practicable, ensure diversity of the board and of any subgroup thereof or other evaluation panel related to the merit staffing process for career appointees, by including members of racial and ethnic minority groups, women, and individuals with disabilities.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Regulations- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall promulgate regulations to implement subsection (a).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Report- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives a report evaluating agency efforts to improve diversity in executive resources boards based on the information collected by the SES Resource Office under section 4(c)(2)(G) (viii) and (ix).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 6. ENCOURAGING A MORE DIVERSE SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE.

(a) Senior Executive Service Diversity Plans-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, each agency, in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management and the Chief Human Capital Officers Council, shall submit to the Office of Personnel Management a plan to enhance and maximize opportunities for the advancement and appointment of minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities in the agency to the Senior Executive Service. Agency plans shall be reflected in the strategic human capital plan.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) CONTENTS- Agency plans shall address how the agency is identifying and eliminating barriers that impair the ability of minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities to obtain appointments to the Senior Executive Service and any actions the agency is taking to provide advancement opportunities, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) conducting outreach to minorities, women, and individuals within the agency and outside the agency;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) establishing and maintaining training and education programs to foster leadership development;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) identifying career enhancing opportunities for agency employees;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) assessing internal availability of candidates for Senior Executive Service positions; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) conducting an inventory of employee skills and addressing current and potential gaps in skills and the distribution of skills.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) UPDATE OF AGENCY PLANS- Agency plans shall be updated at least every 2 years during the 10 years following enactment of this Act. An agency plan shall be reviewed by the Office of Personnel Management and, if determined to provide sufficient assurances, procedures, and commitments to provide adequate opportunities for the advancement and appointment of minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities to the Senior Executive Service, shall be approved by such Office. An agency may, in updating its plan, submit to the Office of Personnel Management an assessment of the impacts of the plan.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Summary and Evaluation- Not later than 180 days after the deadline for the submission of any report or update under subsection (a), the Director shall transmit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives a report summarizing and evaluating the agency plans or updates (as the case may be) so submitted.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Coordination- The Office of Personnel Management shall, in carrying out subsection (a), evaluate existing requirements under section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-16) and section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791) and determine how agency reporting can be performed so as to be consistent with, but not duplicative of, such sections and any other similar requirements.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink