A bill purporting to reform the Senior Executive Service cleared a House Oversight Committee markup session on Jan. 12, and was quickly met with disdain from a federal executive association.

H.R. 4358, the Senior Executive Service Accountability Act, includes extensive reforms for both accountability and new procedures for the removal of senior executives.

The bill was roundly lambasted by the Senior Executive Association, who took issue with the legislation's efforts to expedite the removal SES members for misconduct.

"In an effort to tout their dedication to 'accountability,' majority leaders in the Congress continue to push forward with the singular focus of carving out paths to summarily terminate career senior executives," SEA interim president Tim Dirks said in  a statement.

"As members scramble to gain political advantage and attach their names to would-be solutions, they fail to address the real issues and in fact create more serious problems by sending a dangerous and discouraging message that those who enter or consider entering the SES will be met with a 'guilty until proven innocent' style of justice."

The bill; sponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich.; gives agency heads the ability to remove or demote a SES member to a General Schedule level if they deem appropriate, extends the probationary period for new hires from one year to two and provides for expedited review of appeals, among other provisions.

"Unfortunately, scandals perpetuated by senior executive branch officials have shown that some senior leaders failed to meet the standards of federal leaders," Walberg said at the Jan. 12 hearing.

"This committee has held numerous hearings on the lack of accountability in the SES, and it is essential to restore the public's confidence in the government's executive corps."

Walberg went on to compare the bill to 2014's Veterans Access Choice and Accountability Act, which included a similar provision for removing SES employees for misconduct with in the Department of Veterans Affairs and passed with bipartisan support.

Committee Democrats balked at the assertion, however, saying that the 2014 law addressed specific issues of deficiency in one agency, while Waldberg's legislation would provide a broad, unnecessary burden on executives that had committed no wrongdoing.

"The example my friend, Mr. Waldberg, uses in the last Congress with respect to VA was actually an exception, not a model," said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. "We never intended in support of that for that to become the new standard."

Ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., also noted that the VA law was currently being challenged the Federal Court of Appeals. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., offered an amendment to strike several sections from the bill, saying that a December executive order had already provided SES reform, but the amendment failed in a voice vote.

The bill cleared the committee in a 21-16 vote and moved to a motion to reconsider, and members will have two days to suggest changes.

Dirks said SEA would keep advocating for changes to the bill and better reforms for the SES.

"SEA has repeatedly reached out to Congressional members, and will continue to do so, in an effort engage in comprehensive, constructive reforms that will enable employees to better serve the American public," he said.

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