Federal agencies would be able to more quickly hire qualified candidates for job openings under legislation introduced by a bipartisan pair of senators June 16.
The Competitive Service Act would allow agencies to review and select job candidates from other agencies’ “best qualified list of applicants,” which would cut down on duplicative efforts. Currently agencies cannot share the lists of qualified candidates who have applied for related jobs.
The bill was introduced by Senators Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Jon Tester, D-Mont., and is co-sponsored by Ben Cardin, D-Md., Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.
“This bill makes it easier for qualified folks who are interested in public service to find jobs,” Tester said. “Hiring a strong workforce while reducing duplication in government provides the kind of common sense solution that taxpayers expect.”
Moran said while each high-level position can only be filled by one great candidate, qualified applicants could be a great match for similar positions in other agencies.
“Our legislation makes certain our government’s investment in recruiting and screening top talent does not go to waste by allowing agencies to share talent certification lists,” Moran said.
Portman said it was critical that the federal government has world-class and highly trained employees to deal with important issues such as cybersecurity and information technology.
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“Our bill will streamline the hiring process — enabling agencies to share applicant pools so that qualified individuals will not have to undergo an already slow hiring process time and time again for similar positions across the federal government. This is a common sense bill to help agencies get the right people in the right jobs in a more efficient manner,” Portman said.
Cardin said the Government Accountability Office has shown that nearly one third of federal workers will be retirement eligible by September, 2017.
We need to re-think how the Federal Government hires people if we want to avoid ‘mission critical skills gaps’ likely to be caused by the coming retirement wave.”
Heitkamp said there is a shortage of federal workers in North Dakota and that qualified applicants should not get lost in the mix because of arbitrary barriers.
“”There is no reason communities should lose out on being served by our country’s best and brightest because of undue restrictions,” Heitkamp said.
“From veterans, to millennials, to seasoned federal employees – our talented Americans applying for federal jobs to serve this country should not get lost in the mix simply because of unhelpful barriers that inhibit agencies from communicating.
Max Stier, the president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, said the legislation will help speed up the hiring process and boost recruitment efforts.
“This bipartisan legislation represents a common-sense way of treating our government as a single organization trying to achieve shared goals rather than a disconnected collection of many agencies,” Stier said.
