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

Summary: Senior Executive Service Diversity Assurance Act - Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish within OPM the Senior Executive Service Resource Office to make recommendations to the Director with respect to regulations, and to provide guidance to agencies, concerning the structure, management, and diverse composition of the Senior Executive Service (SES).

Makes it the Office's mission to: (1) improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity of the SES through policy formulation and oversight; (2) advance the professionalism of the SES; and (3) ensure that, in seeking to achieve an SES reflective of the nation's diversity, recruitment is from qualified individuals from appropriate sources.

Requires the Office to make statistics concerning career reserved positions accessible to the public through the official public website of OPM.

Revises the career appointments recruiting process to require agency heads to ensure diversity of executive resources boards, and any subgroup 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. Requires the Director to promulgate necessary regulations and report to Congress on agency efforts to improve diversity in executive resources boards and of qualifications review boards, based on the collection of statistics concerning race, ethnicity, sex, and disability required by this Act.

Requires each agency, within one year after enactment of this Act, to submit to OPM a plan to enhance and maximize opportunities for the advancement and appointment of minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities in the agency to the SES. Requires the plans to: (1) address how the agency is identifying and eliminating barriers that impair the ability of such employees to obtain appointments and any actions the agency is taking to provide advancement opportunities; and (2) be updated at least biennially. Requires the Director to report to Congress on plans and updates.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Senior Executive Service Diversity 
Assurance Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) according to the Government Accountability Office--
                    (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;
                    (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; and
                    (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; and
            (2) according to the Office of Personnel Management--
                    (A) black employees represented 6.1 percent of 
                employees at the Senior Pay levels and 17.8 percent of 
                the permanent Federal workforce compared to 10.1 
                percent in the civilian labor force in 2007;
                    (B) Hispanic employees represented 4.0 percent of 
                employees at the Senior Pay levels and 7.8 percent of 
                the permanent Federal workforce compared to 13.3 
                percent of the civilian labor force in 2007; and
                    (C) women represented 28.2 percent of employees at 
                the Senior Pay levels and 43.9 percent of the permanent 
                Federal workforce compared to 45.7 percent of the 
                civilian labor force in 2007.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office 
        of Personnel Management;
            (2) the term ``Senior Executive Service'' has the meaning 
        given such term by section 2101a of title 5, United States 
        Code;
            (3) the terms ``agency'', ``career appointee'', and 
        ``career reserved position'' have the meanings given them by 
        section 3132 of title 5, United States Code; and
            (4) the term ``SES Resource Office'' means the Senior 
        Executive Service Resource Office, established under section 4.

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. The mission of the SES Resource Office shall 
be--
            (1) to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and 
        productivity of the Senior Executive Service through policy 
        formulation and oversight;
            (2) to advance the professionalism of the Senior Executive 
        Service; and
            (3) to ensure that, in seeking to achieve a Senior 
        Executive Service reflective of the Nation's diversity, 
        recruitment is from qualified individuals from appropriate 
        sources.
    (b) Functions.--It shall be the function of the SES Resource Office 
to make recommendations to the Director with respect to regulations, 
and to provide guidance to agencies, concerning the structure, 
management, and diverse composition of the Senior Executive Service. In 
order to carry out the purposes of this section, the SES Resource 
Office shall--
            (1) take such actions as the SES Resource Office considers 
        necessary to manage and promote an efficient, elite, and 
        diverse corps of senior executives by--
                    (A) creating policies for the management and 
                improvement of the Senior Executive Service;
                    (B) providing oversight of the performance, 
                structure, and composition of the Senior Executive 
                Service; and
                    (C) providing guidance and oversight to agencies in 
                the management of senior executives and candidates for 
                the Senior Executive Service;
            (2) be responsible for the policy development, management, 
        and oversight of the Senior Executive Service pay system;
            (3) develop standards for certification of each agency's 
        Senior Executive Service performance management system and 
        evaluate all agency applications for certification;
            (4) be responsible for developing and monitoring programs 
        for the advancement and training of senior executives, 
        including the Senior Executive Service Federal Candidate 
        Development Program;
            (5) provide oversight of, and guidance to, agency executive 
        resources boards;
            (6) be responsible for the administration of the 
        qualifications review board;
            (7) establish and maintain annual statistics (in a form 
        that renders them useful to appointing authorities and 
        candidates) on--
                    (A) the total number of career reserved positions 
                at each agency;
                    (B) the total number of vacant career reserved 
                positions at each agency;
                    (C) of the positions under subparagraph (B), the 
                number for which candidates are being sought;
                    (D) 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;
                    (E) the composition of the Senior Executive Service 
                with regard to race, ethnicity, sex, age, and 
                individuals with disabilities;
                    (F) the composition of executive resources boards 
                with regard to race, ethnicity, sex, and individuals 
                with disabilities; and
                    (G) the composition of qualifications review boards 
                with regard to race, ethnicity, sex, and individuals 
                with disabilities;
            (8) make available to the public through the official 
        public internet site of the Office of Personnel Management, the 
        data collected under paragraph (7);
            (9) establish 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 pursuant to section 3396(a) of title 5, United 
        States Code;
            (10) 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;
            (11) 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; and
            (12) evaluate and implement strategies to ensure that 
        agencies conduct appropriate outreach to other agencies to 
        identify candidates for Senior Executive Service positions.
    (c) Protection of Individually Identifiable Information.--For 
purposes of subsection (b)(8), the SES Resource Office may combine data 
for any agency that is not named in section 901(b) of chapter 31, 
United States Code, to protect individually identifiable information.
    (d) 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 (b)(7).

SEC. 5. CAREER APPOINTMENTS.

    (a) Promoting Diversity in the Career Appointments Process.--
Section 3393 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), 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.''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)(1), by adding after the last sentence 
        the following: ``Consideration should also be given to 
        improving diversity by including members of racial and ethnic 
        minority groups, women, and individuals with disabilities on 
        qualifications review boards.''.
    (b) Regulations.--Within 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Director shall promulgate regulations to implement 
subsection (a) and to improve diversity in executive resources boards 
and qualifications review boards.
    (c) Report.--Within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Director shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report 
evaluating agency efforts to improve diversity in executive resources 
boards and of the members designated by agencies to serve on 
qualifications review boards, based on the information collected by the 
SES Resource Office under subparagraphs (F) and (G) of section 4(b)(7).

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

    (a) Senior Executive Service Diversity Plans.--Within 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, each agency, in consultation 
with the Office of Personnel Management, 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 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--
            (1) conducting outreach to minorities, women, and 
        individuals within the agency and outside the agency;
            (2) establishing and maintaining training and education 
        programs to foster leadership development;
            (3) identifying career enhancing opportunities for agency 
        employees;
            (4) assessing internal availability of candidates for 
        Senior Executive Service positions; and
            (5) conducting an inventory of employee skills and 
        addressing current and potential gaps in skills and the 
        distribution of skills.
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.
    (b) Summary and Evaluation.--Within 180 days after the deadline for 
the submission of any report or update under subsection (a), the 
Director shall transmit to the Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report summarizing 
and evaluating the agency plans or updates (as the case may be) so 
submitted.
    (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.

            Passed the House of Representatives June 3, 2008.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.