Introducing the SES Reform Act of 2012

Floor Speech

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Senior Executive Service Reform Act of 2012. To put it simply, this bill will make the Senior Executive Service more attractive to senior General Schedule employees by reforming SES compensation, improving SES career management, reforming the SES hiring process, and increasing diversity within the SES.

Today approximately 64 percent of the nearly 7,100 Senior Executives will be eligible to retire by 2016. According to officials at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), there are insufficient numbers of candidates to replace outgoing Senior Executives. The Senior Executive Service is not broken, but needs reform to continue to attract, retain, develop and reward our nation's most talented civil servants.

Although Senior Executives can earn more at the upper ranges, lower-level Senior Executives have significant pay overlap with upper-level GS-14 and 15 employees, who receive locality and overtime pay. Pay compression, as the phenomenon is known, reduces the attractiveness of joining the SES, where employees work longer hours and are more susceptible to being geographically relocated.

To address pay compression, this bill would provide an automatic pay raise equal to the annual average GS pay raise for any SES that receives a ``fully successful'' rating. Additionally, this bill would allow Senior Executives to count performance awards and bonuses towards their High-3 annuity calculation. Each reform is intended to alleviate pay compression, making the SES more financially attractive for high-performing GS employees.

Mr. Speaker, more attention needs to be given to ensuring that Senior Executives receive continuing professional development throughout their careers. This bill will require each agency to establish onboarding programs for newly appointed Senior Executives. Agency programs must include an overview of the mission, priorities, strategic plan of the agency and the roles and responsibilities of the new appointee.

To improve the hiring process, agency heads will also be required to advertise vacancies for a sufficient period of time to allow a larger pool of applicants to apply. The bill will reduce the exhaustive amounts of paperwork that needs to be submitted into a more manageable process that will allow agencies to provide timely notification to applicants regarding the status of their application.

Finally, I am proud that this bill will require each agency to create plans to increase diversity within their agencies. The plan, which will need to be updated biennially, will maximize the opportunities for the appointment of minorities, women and individuals with disabilities to the SES.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to introduce the SES Reform Bill of 2012 with my colleagues Representatives Gerry Connolly and Chris Van Hollen, who have been such great leaders on federal employee issues.

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