What GAO Found

United States Government Accountability Office

Why GAO Did This Study

Highlights

Accountability Integrity Reliability

May 2006

PERSONNEL PRACTICES 

Conversions of Employees from 

Noncareer to Career Positions, May 2001 - April 2005 

Highlights of GAO-06-381, a report to 

congressional requesters 

A federal employee conversion 

occurs whenever an individual 

changes from one personnel status 

or service to another without a 

break in federal government 

service of more than 3 days. This 

report focuses on conversions of 

individuals from noncareer to 

career positions. Federal agencies 

must use appropriate authorities 

and follow proper procedures in 

making these conversions. GAO

was asked to determine for 

departments and selected agencies 

(1) the number and characteristics 

of all noncareer to career 

conversions occurring during the 

period from May 1, 2001, through 

April 30, 2005, and (2) whether 

appropriate authorities were used 

and proper procedures were 

followed in making these 

conversions at the GS-12 level and 

above. 

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that (1) OPM 

review the 18 conversions GAO 

identified where it appears that 

certain agencies did not use 

appropriate authorities and/or 

follow proper procedures and 

determine whether additional 

actions are needed, and (2) 

determine whether conversions to 

career excepted service positions 

should be subject to OPM’s review. 

OPM generally agreed with these 

recommendations. 

Twenty-three of the 41 departments and agencies selected for review 

reported converting 144 individuals from noncareer to career positions from 

May 1, 2001, through April 30, 2005. The other 18 departments and agencies 

reported making no conversions during this period. Four agencies 

accounted for 95, or 66 percent, of the 144 reported conversions: the 

Departments of Health and Human Services (36), Justice (23), Defense (21), 

and Treasury (15). Of the 144 reported conversions, almost two-thirds were 

from Limited Term Senior Executive Service (SES) positions (47) and 

Schedule C positions (46). Limited Term SES appointments may be made 

for up to 36 months and can include federal employees who previously held 

career positions. Schedule C appointments are generally noncompetitive 

and are for positions graded GS-15 and below that involve determining 

policy or that require a close confidential relationship with key agency 

officials. Of these 144 individuals, 64 were converted to career SES 

positions, 47 to career competitive service positions, and 33 to career 

excepted service (non-Schedule C) positions. 

 

Agencies used appropriate authorities and followed proper procedures in 

making the majority (93) of the 130 conversions reported at the GS-12 level 

or higher. However, for 37 of these conversions it appears that agencies did 

not follow proper procedures or agencies did not provide enough 

information for us to make an assessment. For 18 of the 37 of these 

conversions, it appears that agencies did not follow proper procedures. 

Some of the apparent improper procedures included: selecting former 

noncareer appointees who appeared to have limited qualifications and 

experience for career positions, creating career positions specifically for 

particular individuals, and failing to apply veteran’s preference in the 

selection process. Seven of the 18 conversions were subject to OPM review 

and approval; 2 because they fell within the presidential election preappointment review period as prescribed by OPM and 5 because they were 

to SES level positions. For the remaining 19 conversions, agencies did not 

provide enough information for GAO to fully assess the process used by the 

agency in making the conversion. This was largely attributable to the types 

of appointments involved. Sixteen of these 19 conversions were to career 

excepted service (non-Schedule C) positions at the Department of Justice. 

For appointments to excepted service positions, OPM does not require 

agencies to follow OPM’s competitive hiring provisions or to maintain 

records of the rating, ranking, and selection process, as it requires for 

competitive service appointments (although most of these conversions are 

subject to the merit system principles). These unique hiring procedures and 

limited documentation requirements for excepted service positions resulted 

in GAO having insufficient information to reconstruct the Department of 

Justice’s decision-making process to convert these individuals. For the 

remaining three cases, the Department of Health and Human Services could 

not locate certain files. 

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt? GAO-06-381.

To view the full product, including the scope 

and methodology, click on the link above. 

For more information, contact George H. 

Stalcup at (202) 512-6806 or 

stalcupg@gao.gov. 

Page i GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Contents

Letter 1

Results in Brief 4

Background 6

Agencies Appeared to Have Used Appropriate Authorities and 

Proper Procedures in Making the Majority of These

Conversions 11

Conclusions 15

Recommendations for Executive Action 16

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 16

Appendixes

Appendix I: Executive Branch Departments and Selected Agencies 

Covered in This Review and Their Number of Conversions 18

Appendix II: Scope and Methodology 19

Appendix III: Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career Positions by 

Departments and Selected Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 

30, 2005 22

Appendix IV: Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities and Proper 

Procedures May Not Have Been Followed 41

Appendix V: Conversions Where It Could Not Be Determined Whether 

Appropriate Authorities and Proper Procedures Were 

Followed 74

Appendix VI: Comments from Office of Personnel Management 76

Appendix VII: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 77

Figure Figure 1: Departments and Selected Agencies with the Most 

Conversions 10

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Page 1 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

United States Government Accountability Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

Page 1 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

A

May 1, 2006 Leter

The Honorable Henry A. Waxman

Ranking Minority Member

Committee on Government Reform

House of Representatives

The Honorable Danny K. Davis

Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on

Federal Workforce and Agency Organization

Committee on Government Reform

House of Representatives

According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), a federal 

employee conversion occurs whenever an individual changes from one 

personnel status or service to another without a break in federal 

government service of more than 3 days. There are many types of 

conversions. This report focuses on one type of conversion; i.e., converting 

individuals from noncareer to career positions. These conversions 

represented less than 1 percent of the total number of career conversions 

across the government from May 1, 2001, through April 30, 2005.1

 The types 

of positions this report covers and a definition of each is listed in the 

background section. 

Federal agencies must use appropriate authorities and follow proper 

procedures in making the conversions. Most of these authorities and 

procedures are found in Title 5 of the U.S. Code. Title 5 of the U.S. Code 

includes the merit system principles,2

 which are broad principles governing 

federal personnel management, such as that all applicants for federal 

employment should receive fair and equitable treatment. Other examples 

of statutory requirements include granting of veteran’s preference3

 and the 

1

Although our report includes conversions from the Legislative branch to the Executive 

branch and of conversions from one agency to another, the total number of governmentwide 

conversions includes conversions from noncareer to career within an agency. This 

difference does not have a material effect on the comparison.

2

5 U.S.C. § 2301(b).

3

5 U.S.C. §§ 3309-20.
Page 2 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

prohibition on certain personnel practices4

 such as discriminating for or 

against an applicant for employment on the basis of political affiliation. In 

addition to these statutory requirements, agencies must follow OPM 

regulations, which set out required procedures for making appointments to 

career positions, such as providing public notice of all vacancies in the 

career Senior Executive Service (SES).5

 Agencies are not required to follow 

OPM’s competitive service hiring guidance for career excepted service 

(non-Schedule C) positions; however, agencies must follow merit system 

principles and apply veteran’s preference when making most of these 

appointments. 

OPM also has oversight authority to ensure that federal agencies are 

following the merit system principles when hiring. As one aspect of 

carrying out these duties, OPM has traditionally required agencies to seek 

its pre-appointment approval for the conversion of certain noncareer 

appointees (Schedule C and Noncareer SES) into certain career positions 

(competitive service and career SES) during a presidential election review 

period. Schedule C appointments are generally noncompetitive and are 

usually for positions graded GS-15 and below that involve determining 

policy or that require a close confidential relationship with the agency head 

or other key officials of the agency. Noncareer SES appointees are 

responsible for formulating, advocating, and directing administration 

policies. The specific duration of each presidential election review period 

is defined every 4 years by OPM. For the most recent presidential election, 

OPM defined the pre-appointment review period from March 18, 2004, 

through January 20, 2005. OPM does not include conversions to career 

excepted service (non-Schedule C) positions in this pre-appointment 

review process. In addition, pursuant to the statutory requirement to 

maintain an oversight program over delegated activities, OPM conducts 

periodic audits of agencies’ examining and hiring activities to ensure they 

are consistent with the merit systems principles and other laws and 

regulations.6

This report responds to your request that we determine for departments 

and selected agencies (1) the number of all conversions from noncareer to 

career positions occurring during the period from May 1, 2001, through 

4

5 U.S.C. § 2302.

5

5 C.F.R. § 317.501(b)(2).

6

5 U.S.C. § 1104(b)(2).
Page 3 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

April 30, 2005; and for each of these conversions, the characteristics of the 

noncareer positions previously held by these individuals and the career 

positions to which they were converted, and (2) whether appropriate 

authorities were used and proper procedures followed in making these 

conversions at the GS-12 level and above.

We have regularly reported on conversions from noncareer to career 

positions in the past.7

 In our most recent review, we reported on 

conversions during the period from October 1998 through April 2001. In 

addition, in June 2005, we provided you with information on the number of 

individuals who were converted from noncareer to career positions during 

the period from May 1, 2001, through December 31, 2003, as reported to us 

by departments and selected agencies.8

 We reported that 77 individuals 

holding noncareer positions were converted to career positions during that 

time frame at 18 of the 41 selected departments and agencies covered in 

our review. The remaining 23 departments and selected agencies reported 

no conversions during that period. This report expands on that information 

to show the total number of conversions reported by the 41 selected 

departments and agencies for the entire period of May 1, 2001, through 

April 30, 2005, and the results of our review of those conversions at the GS12 level and above. 

To address our objectives, we asked 41 departments and selected agencies 

to complete a data collection instrument (DCI) and provide official records 

(Standard Form 50B) for each conversion to determine the number of 

individuals converted from noncareer to career positions. Appendix I lists 

the 41 departments and agencies we reviewed and the number of 

conversions reported by each. The criteria we used to select the 41 

departments and agencies were (1) all 15 departments and (2) 26 agencies 

that had oversight or other regular responsibilities for federal workforce 

issues, and that were agencies of particular interest to the congressional 

requesters. For each conversion at the GS-12 level and above, we reviewed 

the merit staffing files, which document promotion and hiring decisions, 

7

GAO, Personnel Practices: Career and Other Appointments of Former Political 

Appointees, October 1998 – April 2001, GAO-02-326 (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 26, 2002); 

GAO, Personnel Practices: Career Appointments Granted Political Appointees from 

October 1998 through June 2000, GAO/GGD-00-205 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 18, 2000); and

GAO, Personnel Practices: Career Appointment of Former Political and Congressional 

Employees, GAO/GGD-97-165 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 2, 1997).

8

GAO, Conversions of Selected Employees from Noncareer to Career Positions at 

Departments and Certain Agencies, GAO-05-584R (Washington, D.C.: June 9, 2005).
Page 4 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

and official personnel folders (OPF), which include salary and other 

information from individuals’ current and previous appointments, to 

ensure that appropriate authorities and proper procedures were followed. 

Agencies are not required to follow OPM’s competitive hiring procedures 

for career excepted service positions. Instead, they devise their own hiring 

procedures for career excepted service (non-Schedule C) positions. We 

requested written copies of such procedures from each agency that used 

this authority to determine (1) if agency procedures were consistent with 

law and regulations, and (2) whether agencies followed their own 

procedures. Since most of the conversions to career excepted service 

positions were made by the Department of Justice (DOJ), we also met with 

DOJ’s Director of Attorney Recruitment and Management to discuss the 

process DOJ uses to convert individuals to career excepted service (nonSchedule C) positions.

We conducted our work in Washington, D.C. from March 2004 through 

March 2006 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 

standards. Appendix II contains more detailed information on our scope 

and methodology.

Results in Brief Twenty-three of the 41 departments and agencies selected for review 

reported converting 144 individuals from noncareer to career positions 

from May 1, 2001, through April 30, 2005. The other 18 departments and 

agencies reported making no conversions during this period. Four agencies 

accounted for 95, or 66 percent, of the 144 reported conversions: the 

Departments of Health and Human Services (36), Justice (23), Defense 

(21), and Treasury (15). Of the 144 reported conversions, almost two-thirds 

were from Limited Term Senior Executive Service (SES) positions (47) and 

Schedule C positions (46). Limited Term SES appointments may be made 

for up to 36 months and can include federal employees who previously held 

career positions. Of these 144 individuals 64 were converted to career SES 

positions, 47 to career competitive service positions, which are at the GS-15 

grade level and below, and 33 to career excepted service (non-Schedule C) 

positions. 

Agencies used appropriate authorities and followed proper procedures in 

making the majority (93) of the 130 conversions reported at the GS-12 level 

or higher. However, for 37 of these conversions it appears that agencies did 

not follow proper procedures or agencies did not provide enough 

information for us to make an assessment. For 18 of the 37 conversions, it 

appears that agencies did not follow proper procedures. Some of the 
Page 5 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

apparent improper procedures included: selecting former noncareer 

appointees who appeared to have limited qualifications and experience for 

career positions, creating career positions specifically for particular 

individuals, and failing to apply veteran’s preference in the selection 

process. Seven of the 18 conversions were subject to OPM review and 

approval; 2 because they fell within the presidential election preappointment review period as prescribed by OPM and 5 because they were 

to SES level positions. 

For the remaining 19 conversions, agencies did not provide enough 

information for us to fully assess the process used by the agency in making 

the conversion. This was largely attributable to the types of appointments 

involved. Sixteen of these 19 conversions were to career excepted service 

(non-Schedule C) positions at the Department of Justice. For appointments 

to excepted service positions, OPM does not require agencies to follow 

OPM’s competitive hiring provisions or to maintain records of the rating, 

ranking, and selection process, as it requires for competitive service 

appointments. These unique hiring procedures and limited documentation 

requirements for excepted service positions resulted in us having 

insufficient information to reconstruct the Department of Justice’s 

decision-making process to convert these individuals. For the 3 remaining 

cases, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department 

of Defense (DOD) could not locate certain files.

To help ensure that federal agencies follow appropriate authorities and 

proper procedures in making conversions from noncareer to career 

positions, we are making recommendations to the Director of OPM to 

• review the 18 conversions we identified where it appears that certain 

agencies did not use appropriate authorities and/or follow proper 

procedures in making these conversions and determine whether 

additional actions are needed, and 

• determine whether conversions to career excepted service positions 

should be subject to OPM review—such as through the pre-appointment 

review OPM conducts of other conversions during presidential election 

periods, and/or during OPM’s periodic audits of agencies’ examining and 

hiring activities, and if so, determine what information agencies should 

provide on such conversions.

We obtained comments on a draft of this report from the Director of OPM. 

OPM agreed with our first recommendation to review the 18 cases we 
Page 6 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

identified where certain agencies did not use the appropriate authorities or 

adhere to merit system principles and veteran’s preference. With respect to 

our second recommendation, OPM stated that it would incorporate a 

review of agency practices in this area during its normal review of agency 

delegated examining units. Because we view such action as responsive to 

the intent of our recommendation to enhance the oversight over 

conversions agencies make from noncareer to career excepted service 

positions, we revised the recommendation to include OPM’s intended 

action. Appendix VI contains OPM’s written comments.

Background We identified seven categories of noncareer position appointments 

(positions from which individuals were converted as discussed in this 

report). 

• Schedule C: Appointments are generally noncompetitive and are for 

excepted service positions graded GS-15 and below that involve 

determining policy or that require a close confidential relationship with 

the agency head or other key officials of the agency.

• Noncareer SES: Appointments are to positions with responsibility for 

formulating, advocating, and directing administration policies. 

Noncareer SES appointees have no tenure and serve “at the pleasure of 

the department or agency head.”

• Limited Term SES: Appointments may be made for up to 36 months to a 

position with duties that will end within 36 months or an earlier 

specified time period.

• Limited Emergency SES: Appointments may be made for up to 18 

months to meet a bona-fide, unanticipated, urgent need.

• Presidential appointees, including executive level and noncareer 

ambassadors: Appointees are made by the President generally to fill 

high-level executive positions. Appointments support and advocate the 

President’s goals and policies. 

• Noncareer legislative branch: Appointments are primarily to positions in 

member and committee offices. 

• Other statutory at-will individuals: Sometimes called administratively 

determined positions. Appointments are made under specific authority 
Page 7 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

provided to certain agencies to appoint individuals to these positions 

noncompetitively. Appointees serve at the pleasure of the agency head 

and can be removed at will. The salary levels can be determined by the 

agency head within certain limits.

Although noncareer appointments are generally noncompetitive, 

individuals holding noncareer positions may have previously held career 

positions. For example, Limited Term SES and Limited Emergency SES 

positions are often filled by federal employees who have previously held 

career positions and achieved career status.

We identified four categories of career position appointments (positions to 

which individuals were converted as discussed in this report).

• Career (competitive service): Appointments are made through a 

governmentwide or an “all sources” merit staffing (competitive) 

process, including recruitment through a published announcement, 

rating and ranking of eligible candidates, and establishment of OPMcreated or approved qualification standards.

• Career-conditional (competitive service): Appointments are for

permanent positions in the competitive service and are generally the 

initial positions for new hires. Appointees must complete a 1-year 

probationary period and a total of 3 years continuous creditable service 

to attain a career appointment.

• Career (SES): Appointments are to top-level policy, supervisory, and 

managerial positions above grade 15 of the General Schedule. Career 

SES positions require a further review and approval of the merit staffing 

process by OPM, and the proposed selectee’s executive/managerial 

qualifications by an OPM-administered SES Qualifications Review 

Board (QRB) which are composed of members of the SES from across 

the government. 

• Career Excepted Service (Non-Schedule C): Appointments involve 

agency positions that are not subject to OPM’s competitive hiring 

examination. Agencies have authority to establish their own hiring 

procedures to fill excepted service vacancies. Such procedures must 

comply with statutory requirements such as merit systems principles 

and veteran’s preference, when applicable. Career excepted service 

individuals have adverse action appeal rights to the Merit Systems 

Protection Board; which is responsible for protecting the federal 
Page 8 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

government’s merit-based system of employment by hearing and 

deciding cases involving certain personnel actions.

As mentioned previously, the majority of authorities and procedures 

governing appointments to career positions are outlined in Title 5 of the 

U.S. Code. Merit system principles are one of the fundamental statutory 

rules that apply to civil service appointments. These principles require that 

agencies provide a selection process that is fair, open, and based on skills, 

knowledge, and ability.9

 Another statutory requirement is the prohibition 

on certain personnel practices, such as granting any individual a preference 

or advantage in the application process, including defining the manner of 

competition or requirements for a position to improve the prospects of any 

particular applicant, or failing to fulfill veteran’s preference requirements.10

In addition to these statutory requirements, agencies must follow OPM’s 

regulations in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which also outline 

required procedures for making appointments to career positions, such as 

providing public notice of all vacancies in the career SES.11 For career 

excepted service (non-Schedule C) positions, agencies are not required to 

follow OPM’s hiring regulations for the competitive service; however, they 

must apply veteran’s preference and follow merit system principles when 

making most of these appointments.

OPM has oversight authority to ensure that agencies are following the merit 

system principles when hiring.12 In accordance with this authority, OPM 

has traditionally required agencies to seek its pre-appointment approval for 

the conversion of certain noncareer appointees (Schedule C and Noncareer 

SES) into certain career positions (competitive service and career SES) 

during a presidential election period. OPM defines the specific duration of 

this period every 4 years. In a memorandum to department and agency 

heads dated March 18, 2004, OPM defined the most recent pre-appointment 

review period as beginning on March 18, 2004, and concluding on January 

20, 2005, Inauguration Day. In that memorandum, OPM also reminded 

agencies of the need to ensure that agency personnel actions remain free of 

political influence and meet all relevant civil service laws, rules, and 

9

5 U.S.C. § 2301(b)(1).

105 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(6)(11)(b).

115 C.F.R. § 317.501(b)(2).

125 U.S.C. § 1104(b)(2).
Page 9 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

regulations and that all official personnel records should clearly document 

the continued adherence with merit principles and the avoidance of 

prohibited personnel practices. OPM also required agencies to seek its 

approval before appointing a current or former (within the last 5 years) 

Schedule C or Noncareer SES employee to the competitive service or 

career SES during this period. As stated previously, OPM does not include 

conversions to career excepted service (non-Schedule C) positions in this 

pre-appointment review process. Thirty-six of the 144 reported conversions 

covered in this review occurred during the most recent presidential 

election review period. In addition to conducting pre-appointment reviews 

during election years, OPM also reviews all career SES appointments. For 

these appointments, OPM first reviews the selection process to ensure 

merit staffing procedures were followed, then forwards the documents to 

an OPM-administered SES QRB that reviews and approves the 

executive/managerial qualifications of agency proposed selectees.

Agencies Made 144 

Noncareer to Career 

Conversions from May 2001 

through April 2005

Twenty-three of the 41 agencies we reviewed reported 144 conversions of 

individuals from noncareer to career positions from May 1, 2001, through 

April 30, 2005. The other 18 agencies reported no conversions during this 

period. Four agencies, the Department of Health and Human Services 

(HHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Defense 

(DOD), and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) accounted for 95, or 

66 percent, of the total 144 conversions reported, as seen in figure 1.
Page 10 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Figure 1: Departments and Selected Agencies with the Most Conversions

Of the 144 reported conversions, individuals were converted from the 

following categories of noncareer positions:

• 47 Limited Term SES positions

• 46 Schedule C positions

• 25 other statutory at-will positions

• 13 Noncareer SES positions

• 6 Limited Emergency SES positions

• 3 presidential appointee positions

• 4 legislative branch positions 

The 144 reported conversions were made to the following categories of

career positions:

• 64 career SES positions

Source: GAO’s analysis of data reported by departments and selected agencies.

Department of Justice

23 Conversions

Department of Health and

Human Services

36 Conversions

19 Departments and

selected agencies

49 Conversions

4 Departments

95 Conversions

Department of Defense

21 Conversions

Department of Treasury

15 Conversions

34% 66%

16%

25%

15%

10%
Page 11 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

• 47 competitive service positions

• 33 career excepted service (non-Schedule C) positions

Appendix III provides more detail on the characteristics of the noncareer 

and career positions to which the individuals were converted, e.g., title of 

positions, grades, salaries, and appointment dates. 

Agencies Appeared to 

Have Used Appropriate 

Authorities and Proper 

Procedures in Making 

the Majority of These 

Conversions

Agencies appear to have used appropriate authorities and followed proper 

procedures in making the majority (93) of the 130 conversions at GS-12 

level or above. However, for 18 conversions, it appears that appropriate 

authorities were not used or proper procedures followed. For 19 

conversions, agencies did not provide us with enough information to make 

a determination—many of these conversions were to excepted service 

positions where agencies develop their own hiring procedures and have 

limited documentation requirements. 

In 93 Conversions, Agencies 

Appeared to Have Used 

Appropriate Authorities and 

Followed Proper 

Procedures

For 93 of the 130 conversions at the GS-12 level and above, our review of 

the merit staffing files and official personnel files at the respective agencies 

indicated that the agencies generally followed the procedural requirements 

associated with each appointing authority called for by federal law and 

regulations, including merit system principles such as fair and open 

competition and fair and equitable treatment of applicants. For example, 

agencies generally complied with the competitive service examination 

process which is intended to ensure that merit system principles are 

followed. The process includes notifying the public that the government 

will accept applications for a job, rating applications against minimum 

qualification standards and assessing applicants’ competencies or 

knowledge, skills, and abilities against job-related criteria to identify the 

most qualified applicants. 

In 18 Conversions, 

Appropriate Authorities and 

Proper Procedures May Not 

Have Been Followed

For 18 conversions, it appeared that in making the conversions, agencies 

did not adhere to merit systems principles or may have engaged in 

prohibited personnel practices. We found that most of these cases involved 

one of several categories of improper procedures, and a few cases involved 

more than one. Each of these conversions is discussed in more detail in 

appendix IV.
Page 12 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

In 7 of the 18 instances, it appears agencies created career positions 

specifically for particular noncareer individuals, tailored career positions’ 

qualifications to closely match the noncareer appointees’ experience or 

pre-selected an applicant for a career position.

• In one case, it appears that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 

created a career excepted service (non-Schedule C) position and

appointed a former noncareer appointee to it without providing an 

opportunity for other potential candidates to apply. 

• In two cases, correspondence between HHS officials suggested that new 

competitive service positions were created specifically for particular 

individuals holding statutory at-will positions under Title 42 of the U.S. 

Code. 

• For two cases, it appears HHS tailored the mandatory qualifications in 

the vacancy announcement to closely match the Limited Term SES 

individuals’ experience, giving them a distinct advantage in the 

qualifications rating process for the career SES position.

• In one case, HHS may have tailored a career position to match a 

Schedule C appointee’s experience, giving the political appointee an 

unfair advantage in the competitive process.

• In one case, it appears DOD preselected a former Schedule C appointee 

for a career position, giving the political appointee an unfair advantage 

in the competitive process.

In 4 of the 18 instances, it appears agencies did not apply veteran’s 

preference properly when converting noncareer appointees to competitive 

service and career excepted service (non-Schedule C) positions. 

• In one case, it appears HHS selected a Schedule C appointee over an 

applicant with veteran’s preference, who had scored higher than the 

noncareer appointee in the competitive examination process. Although 

agencies may make such selections they are required to justify such 

decisions in writing. It appears the agency did not document its 

justification.
Page 13 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

• In one case, documents suggest the Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) did not apply veteran’s preference points13 to applicants’ scores, 

despite the presence of seven veteran’s preference eligibles on the 

applicant roster for a competitive service position. Had the points been 

assigned, five of the applicants would have scored higher than the 

Schedule C appointee (who was eventually selected) in the competitive 

examination process. Additionally, it appears that the agency may have 

created the career position specifically for this individual.

• In one case, it appears HHS did not apply veteran’s preference points for 

two applicants. Had the points been assigned, the applicants would have 

scored higher than the Title 42 statutory-at-will employee (who was 

eventually selected) in the competitive examination process.

• In one case, it appears that DOJ converted a former Schedule C 

employee to a career excepted service (non-Schedule C) position 

without providing the opportunity for veteran’s preference eligibles to 

apply.

In 3 of the 18 instances, agencies converted individuals who appeared to 

have limited qualifications and/or experience relevant to the career 

excepted service (non-Schedule C) positions. 

• In one case, DOJ converted a former Schedule C appointee even though 

it appears he did not meet the position’s minimal qualifications as 

outlined in the vacancy announcements. 

• In two cases, the Department of Housing and Urban Development 

(HUD) and DHS selected former Schedule C appointees who appeared 

to have limited experience relevant to the career positions. 

For the four remaining conversions, agencies did not follow several 

different proper procedures during the appointment process: 

13By law, veterans who are disabled or who served on active duty in the Armed Forces 

during certain specified time periods or in military campaigns are entitled to preference 

over nonveterans both in hiring from competitive lists of eligibles and in retention during 

reductions in force. To be entitled to preference, a veteran must meet the eligibility 

requirements in Title 5 U.S.C. § 2108.
Page 14 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

• For two cases, HHS posted vacancy announcements for SES positions 

for less than the designated minimum time requirement for SES Merit 

Staffing Procedures.

• In one case, OPM raised concerns to the Small Business Administration 

(SBA) that the appointment did not adhere to merit system principles 

during the competition. Based on our review, it appears that SBA 

proceeded with the conversion without fully addressing OPM’s 

concerns.

• In one case, OPM cited weaknesses to the Consumer Product Safety 

Commission (CPSC) concerning the selected candidate’s qualifications 

for the SES position. In our view, it appears that CPSC proceeded with 

the conversion without fully addressing OPM’s concerns.

Concerning OPM’s role in these 18 conversions, 7 of the 18 conversions 

were subject to OPM review and approval; 2 because they fell within the 

presidential election pre-appointment review period as prescribed by OPM 

and 5 because they were to SES level positions. Of the 2 conversions 

subject to OPM’s presidential election pre-appointment review process, in 

one instance, it appeared the agency did not submit the conversion to OPM 

for its review. In the other instance, OPM reviewed the file but did not take 

action before the January 20, 2005, deadline for the pre-appointment review 

period. Of the 5 conversions to SES level positions, an OPM-administered 

QRB reviewed and approved the selectee’s qualifications for each of these 

appointments, although in one case OPM initially rejected the selectee’s 

qualifications, then approved the selection after the agency revised and 

resubmitted its application.

In 19 Conversions, There 

Was Insufficient 

Information to Make a 

Determination as to 

Whether Appropriate 

Authorities and Proper 

Procedures Were Followed

For 19 conversions, we did not have sufficient information to make a 

determination as to whether appropriate authorities and proper procedures 

were followed. More details on these conversions can be found in appendix 

V. Sixteen of these conversions were to career excepted service (nonSchedule C) positions at DOJ. For the remaining 3 conversions, agencies 

could not locate the required files or documents. 

As mentioned previously, agencies are not required to follow OPM’s 

competitive examination process when making appointments to career 

excepted service (non-Schedule C) positions. Rather, individual agencies 

and components within these agencies may develop their own procedures 

and guidelines for hiring, including documentation requirements for hiring 
Page 15 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

decisions. Although OPM requires agencies to maintain records of the 

rating, ranking, and selection process for competitive service 

appointments, these documentation requirements do not apply to the 

excepted service. Agencies are, however, required to follow merit system 

principles and apply veteran’s preference when making most 

appointments, including those to excepted service positions. Given the 

limited documentation requirements for these positions, we could not 

obtain adequate records from DOJ to reconstruct its hiring process. More 

specifically, DOJ could not provide us with documentation of their 

decision-making process for these appointments, such as, in some cases, a 

copy of the selectee’s application. For the 3 remaining conversions, HHS 

could not locate certain files. In two cases, HHS could not locate the 

Official Personnel File or the merit staffing file for 2 conversions of Limited 

Term SES individuals to the career SES. In the other case, HHS could not 

locate the merit staffing files for a former Schedule C appointee that 

converted to a competitive service position. 

Conclusions As we have stated in previous reports, the ability to convert noncareer 

employees to career positions is an appropriate and valuable process 

available to agencies. However, the noncompetitive nature of the 

appointment process for the noncareer positions can create concerns 

about whether these individuals have benefited from favoritism or 

improper advantage when being converted to career positions, even the 

appearance of which could compromise the integrity of the merit system. 

OPM has established a process to help ensure that conversions occurring 

during presidential election periods and to SES level positions, meet merit 

system principles. While this process has in fact helped ensure that some 

improper conversions are prevented, questionable conversions can 

sometimes still occur. Also, conversions to excepted service positions are 

excluded from the presidential election period pre-appointment review 

process. While these conversions to excepted service positions are exempt 

from the OPM competitive examination process, they are subject to other 

statutory requirements, and therefore could involve some of the same 

concerns, as demonstrated by our review. As we discussed previously, as a 

part of its oversight authorities, OPM also conducts periodic reviews of 

agencies’ examining and hiring activities to ensure they are consistent with 

the merit systems principles and other laws and regulations.

OPM should review the 18 conversions we identified where certain 

agencies appeared not to have used proper authorities or to have followed 

proper procedures, and take any appropriate corrective actions. Also, OPM 
Page 16 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

should determine whether conversions to excepted service positions 

should be subject to its pre-appointment review during presidential 

election periods or its periodic reviews of agencies’ examining and hiring 

activities, and if so, what information the agencies should provide to OPM 

in that regard. 

Recommendations for 

Executive Action

To help ensure that federal agencies are following appropriate authorities 

and proper procedures in making conversions of noncareer to career 

positions, we recommend that the Director, OPM: 

• review the 18 conversions we identified where it appears that certain 

agencies did not use appropriate authorities and/or follow proper 

procedures in making these conversions and determine whether 

additional actions are needed, and

• determine whether conversions to career excepted service positions 

should be subject to OPM review—such as through the pre-appointment 

review OPM conducts of other conversions during presidential election 

periods, and/or during OPM’s periodic audits of agencies’ examining and 

hiring activities, and if so, determine what information agencies should 

provide on such conversions.

Agency Comments and 

Our Evaluation

We obtained comments on a draft of this report from the Director of OPM. 

OPM agreed with our recommendation to review the 18 cases we identified 

where agencies did not use the appropriate authorities or adhere to merit 

system principles and veteran’s preference. OPM also noted that 9 of the 18 

cases we identified came from HHS where OPM recently withdrew a 

delegated examining authority from one of its components following an 

oversight review. 

With respect to our recommendation that OPM determine whether 

conversions to career excepted service positions should be subject to the 

pre-appointment review OPM conducts during the presidential election 

periods, OPM stated it would incorporate a review of agency practices in 

this area during its normal review of agency delegated examining units. 

Because we view such action as responsive to the intent of our 

recommendation to enhance the oversight over conversions agencies make 

from noncareer to career excepted service positions, we revised the 
Page 17 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

recommendation to include OPM’s intended action. OPM’s written 

comments are in appendix VI.

We also verified the number of conversions reported by each agency for the 

period from May 1, 2001, through April 30, 2005, including those that 

reported no conversions during this period with cognizant agency officials. 

In addition, we provided draft summaries of the 18 conversions on which 

we had questions and the 19 conversions where we could not make a 

determination, to the agencies that had reported them. The Department of 

Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Housing and 

Urban Development, Department of Defense, Small Business 

Administration, and Consumer Product Safety Commission provided 

technical clarifications to the discussion of their respective conversions, 

which we incorporated as appropriate. 

As agreed with your offices, unless you announce the contents of this 

report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days after the date of 

this report. At that time, we will send copies to the Director of the Office of 

Personnel Management and other interested parties. In addition, this report 

will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have questions about this report, please contact me at 

(202) 512-6806 or stalcupg@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of 

Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page 

of this report. GAO staff that made major contributions to this report are 

listed in appendix VII.

George H. Stalcup

Director, Strategic Issues
Page 18 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Appendix I

Executive Branch Departments and Selected Appendixes

Agencies Covered in This Review and Their 

Number of Conversions Appendix I

1. Department of Agriculture—3 

2. Department of Commerce—1 

3. Department of Defense (Office of the Secretary, Air Force, Army, and 

Navy)—21 

4. Department of Education—3 

5. Department of Energy—1 

6. Department of Health and Human Services—36 

7. Department of Homeland Security—3

8. Department of Housing and Urban Development—3 

9. Department of the Interior—4 

10. Department of Justice—23 

11. Department of Labor—3 

12. Department of State—2 

13. Department of Transportation—0

14. Department of the Treasury—15 

15. Department of Veteran Affairs—4 

16. Commission on Civil Rights—0 

17. Consumer Product Safety Commission—5 

18. Corporation for National Service—0 

19. Environmental Protection Agency—1 

20. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission—1 

21. Export-Import Bank of the U.S.—0 

22. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation—0 

23. Federal Labor Relations Authority—0 

24. Federal Maritime Commission—0 

25. Federal Trade Commission—1 

26. General Services Administration—3 

27. U.S. International Trade Commission—0 

28. Merit Systems Protection Board—0

29. National Aeronautics and Space Administration—3 

30. National Labor Relations Board—0 

31. Office of Government Ethics—0 

32. Office of Management and Budget—0 

33. Office of Personnel Management—5 

34. Office of Special Counsel—0 

35. Office of the U.S. Trade Representative—0 

36. Overseas Private Investment Corporation—0 

37. Peace Corps—0 

38. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation—0 

39. Security Exchange Commission—0 

40. Small Business Administration—2 

41. Social Security Administration—1 

Total Number of Conversions: 144
Page 19 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Appendix II

Scope and Methodology Appendix I

For the purpose of this review, we identified seven categories of noncareer 

position appointments. These noncareer appointments were: Schedule C, 

Noncareer SES, Limited Term SES, Limited Emergency SES, Presidential 

appointees, Noncareer legislative branch, and Other statutory at-will 

positions. Individuals holding noncareer positions may have previously 

held career positions. For example, Limited Term Senior Executive Service 

(SES) and Limited Emergency SES positions are often filled by federal 

employees who have previously held career positions (prior to being 

appointed to the noncareer positions from which they were being 

converted). We identified four categories of career position appointments: 

Career (competitive service), Career-conditional (competitive service), 

Career (SES), Career Excepted Service (Non-Schedule C). Definitions of 

these noncareer and career positions can be found in the background 

section of this report. We also reviewed our prior work on conversions for 

information on these position categories.

The criteria used to select the executive branch departments and agencies 

for this review were (1) all 15 departments and (2) 26 agencies that had 

oversight or other regular responsibilities for federal workforce issues, and 

agencies that were of particular interest to the congressional requesters of 

the review. Under these criteria, we identified 41 departments and 

agencies, which are listed in appendix I.

To determine the number of individuals who converted from noncareer to 

career positions, we asked the 41 agencies to complete a data collection 

instrument (DCI) for the conversions made from May 1, 2001, through 

December 31, 2003, and provide the information to us by April 15, 2004. To 

follow up on conversions made on or after January 1, 2004, we asked the 

agencies to provide the number of conversions to us on a monthly basis 

even if the agency had no conversions, beginning on May 15, 2004, through 

April 30, 2005. 

In the DCI, we asked the agencies to provide specific information about the 

conversions: the career positions to which the individuals were appointed, 

including the position title, pay grade, annual salary, and the date of 

appointment. We also asked for information on the convertee’s former 

noncareer position. In addition, we asked the agencies to provide the 

Standard Form-50B (SF-50B) for all appointments. The SF-50B is the 

official record of the personnel action. We used the SF-50B to verify the 

information that agency officials provided in the DCI. We also verified the 

number of conversions reported by the agencies with agency officials for 
Appendix II

Scope and Methodology

Page 20 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

the period from May 1, 2001, through April 30, 2005, including those that 

reported no conversions during this period.

During our review, we also cross-referenced conversions the agencies 

reported to us that were made during the presidential election review 

period from March 18, 2004, to January 20, 2005, with the information 

agencies reported to OPM during the same period. According to OPM, it 

received and reviewed 24 proposed conversions during the period. 

We reviewed the authorities used and procedures followed for conversions

reported to us at the GS-12 level and above. We first identified the authority 

that the agency cited for the appointment on the SF-50B and verified that it

was the appointment authority for that conversion. We also examined the 

contents of the individual’s official personnel file (OPF), and when 

appropriate, the merit staffing case files to determine if there was evidence 

that the criteria for using the authority was met. 

To determine if proper procedures were followed, we reviewed merit 

staffing files and OPFs to determine what steps were taken in the 

application and conversion process. Merit staffing files document 

promotion and hiring decisions for specific career appointments. The OPF 

contains SF-50Bs, position descriptions, and records from individuals’ 

previous appointments, including former noncareer positions. If we had 

questions concerning a conversion, we interviewed officials at the 

appointing agency and requested documentation to support their 

statements. We compared the procedures used in the conversion process to 

the federal personnel laws and regulations contained in Title 5 of the U.S. 

Code and Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations. We also referred to 

agencies’ merit staffing plans. We based our analysis on our review of 

documents within the case file and additional supporting documents 

provided by the agency in response to our questions. 

Agencies are not required to follow OPM’s competitive hiring provisions for 

career excepted service positions and can establish their own hiring 

procedures for these positions, but they are not required to have written 

copies of these procedures. We requested, and when available, obtained 

and reviewed copies of the hiring procedures from each agency reporting 

using this authority to determine if proper procedures were followed. 

Specifically, we requested additional information from the Departments of 

Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, and 

Justice (DOJ), and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). 

Because each individual component in DOJ has its own appointing 
Appendix II

Scope and Methodology

Page 21 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

authority, we contacted the following eight individual components that 

reported conversions: Office of the Solicitor General, Executive Office of 

U.S. Attorneys, Executive Office of Immigration Review, Office of Legal 

Counsel, Civil Rights Division, Tax Division, Criminal Division, and the 

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). We also met with Department of 

Justice’s Director of Attorney Recruitment and Management to discuss the 

process DOJ uses to convert individuals to Excepted Service (NonSchedule C) positions. The CPSC, the Department of Treasury, and four 

components (Civil Rights Division, Criminal Division, FBI, and Executive 

Office of U. S. Attorneys) within DOJ provided GAO with written 

procedures. HUD and three components (Executive Office of Immigration 

Review, Tax Division, and Office of Legal Counsel) within DOJ reported 

they did not have written procedures. DHS and one component within DOJ 

(the Office of the Solicitor General) did not respond to our request for 

written procedures.

We verified the number of conversions reported by the agencies with 

agency officials for the period from May 1, 2001, through April 30, 2005, 

including those that reported no conversions during this period. In 

addition, we provided draft summaries of the 18 conversions where it 

appeared agencies did not follow proper procedures and the 19 

conversions where we could not make a determination to the respective 

agencies. The Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, 

Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Defense, 

Small Business Administration, and Consumer Product Safety Commission 

provided technical clarifications to the discussion of these conversions, 

which we incorporated as appropriate.

We conducted our work in Washington, D.C. from March 2004 through 

March 2006 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 

standards.
Page 22 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005 Appendix I

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted

Department of Agriculture

Administrator

Food Safety Inspection and

 Service

Department of Agriculture

Noncareer SES

ES-0340-00/00

$142,500

Scientific Advisorc

Food Safety Inspection 

 and Service

GS-0601-15/10

$123,682

02/29/04

State Director

Rural Development

Department of Agriculture

Schedule C

GS-0301-15/04

$110,727

Deputy Administrator 

Multi-Family Housing

Rural Housing Service

ES-1165-00/00

$133,342

08/22/04

Confidential Assistant

Office of the Chief Financial 

 Officer

Department of Agriculture

Schedule C

GS-0301-15/10

$130,305

Deputy Chief

Chief Financial Officer

Forest Service

ES-0510-00/00

$145,600

07/25/04

Department of Commerce

Confidential Assistant

Bureau of Industry and 

 Security

Department of Commerce

Schedule C

GS-0301-09/01

$38,406

Export Policy Analyst

Bureau of Industry and 

 Security

GS-1101-09/02

$41,379

10/05/03

Department of Defense

Disaster Response Program

 Manager

U.S. Army Engineer District, 

 Nashville

Department of the Army

Limited 

 emergency 

 SES

ES-0340-00/01

$117,479

Director, Programs 

 Management

U.S. Army Engineer 

 Division, North 

 Atlantic

Department of the Army

ES-0340-00/01

$123,959

12/30/01

Director, Construction 

 Engineering Research 

 Laboratory

U.S. Army Engineer 

 Research and 

 Development Center

Department of the Army

Limited 

 emergency 

 SES

ES-0807-00/01

$117,479

Director, Construction 

 Engineering Research 

 Laboratory

U.S. Army Engineer 

 Research and 

 Development Center

Department of the Army

ES-0807-00/01

$117,479

11/04/01

Director, Environmental 

 Laboratory

U.S. Army Engineer 

 Research and 

 Development Center

Department of the Army

Limited 

 emergency 

 SES

ES-0401-00/01

$117,479

Director, Environmental 

 Laboratory

U.S. Army Engineer 

 Research and 

 Development Center

Department of the Army

ES-0401-00/01

$117,479

12/02/01

Principal Deputy General 

 Counsel

Office of the General 

 Counsel

Department of Defense

Noncareer SES

ES-0905-00/04

$133,259

General Counsel

Defense Advanced 

 Research Project 

 Agency

Department of Defense

ES-0905-00/04

$138,200

06/02/02
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 23 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Confidential Assistant to the

 Assistant Secretary of 

 Defense (Force 

 Management Policy)

Principal Deputy Under 

 Secretary of Defense 

 (Personnel and Readiness) 

Department of Defense

Schedule C

GS-0301-12/06

$67,749

Management Analyst

Principal Deputy Under 

 Secretary of Defense 

 (Personnel and 

 Readiness)

Department of Defense 

GS-0343-13/03

$73,659

09/07/03

Principal Deputy Assistant 

 Secretary (Financial 

 Management)

U.S. Air Force Headquarters

Department of the Air Force

Noncareer SES

ES-0505-00/06

$142,500

Deputy Under Secretary

 (International Affairs)

U.S. Air Force 

 Headquarters

Department of the Air 

 Force

ES-0131-00/06

$142,500

09/28/03

Writer-Editor

American Forces 

 Information Service

Department of Defense

Schedule C

GS-1082-12/03

$61,942

Writer-Editorc

American Forces 

 Information Service

Department of Defense

GS-1082-12/03

$61,942

09/07/03

Special Assistant for 

 Chemical Stockpile Matters

Under Secretary of Defense 

 (Acquisition, Logistics, and 

 Technology)

Department of Defense

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/01

$131,342

Deputy Assistant to the 

 Secretary of Defense 

 (Chemical, 

 Demilitarization and 

 Threat Reduction)c 

Under Secretary of 

 Defense (Acquisition, 

 Logistics, and 

 Technology)

Department of Defense

ES-0301-00/02

$137,543

06/29/03

Deputy Director for 

 Transition Management

Defense Human Resources 

 Activity

Department of Defense

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0201-00/03

$137,901

Deputy Director for 

 Program Supportc

Defense Human 

 Resources Activity

Department of Defense

ES-0201-00/03

$137,901

09/08/02

Deputy Assistant Secretary 

 of the Army for Policy and 

 Procurement

Office of the Secretary of the 

 Army

Department of the Army

Limited term 

 SES

ES-1101-00/01

$131,342

Deputy Assistant 

 Secretary of the Army 

 for Policy and

 Procurement

Office of the Secretary 

 of the Army

Department of the Army

ES-1101-00/01

$131,342

10/05/03

Deputy Director of Training 

Deputy Chief of Staff for 

 Operations and Plans 

Department of the Army

Limited 

 emergency 

 SES 

ES-1701-00/04

$142,500

Deputy Director of 

 Training

Deputy Chief of Staff for

Operations and Plans

Department of the Army

ES-1701-00/04

$142,500

02/09/03

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 24 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Deputy Assistant Secretary 

 of the Army (Installations 

 and Housing) Advisory

Office of the Assistant 

 Secretary of the Army 

 (Installations and 

 Environment)

Department of the Army

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0340-00/03

$142,500

Deputy Assistant 

 Secretary of Army 

 (Installations and 

 Housing)

Office of the Assistant 

 Secretary of the Army 

 (Installations and 

 Environment)

Department of the Army

ES-0340-00/03

$142,500

11/02/03

Information Technology 

 Manager

U.S. Army Engineer 

 Research and Development 

 Center

Department of the Army

Limited 

 emergency 

 SES

ES-0801-00/02

$122,971

Information Technology 

 Managerc

U.S. Army Engineer 

 Research and 

 Development Center

Department of the Army

ES-0801-00/02

$122,971

12/30/01

Deputy Assistant Secretary 

 of the Navy (Infrastructure 

 Analysis)

Office of Assistant Secretary 

 of Navy (Installations and 

 Environment)

Department of the Navy

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/05

$142,500

Deputy Assistant 

 Secretary of the Navy 

 (Infrastructure 

 Strategy and Analysis)c

Office of Assistant 

 Secretary of Navy 

 (Installations and 

 Environment)

Department of the Navy

ES-0301-00/05

$142,500

07/13/03

Writer-Editor

Assistant Secretary of 

 Defense (Public Affairs)

Department of Defense

Schedule C

GS-0301-11/03

$52,778

Criminal Investigator

Naval Criminal 

 Investigative Service

Department of the Navy

GS-1811-07/10

$59,252

02/08/04

Special Assistant to the 

 Director, Program Analysis 

 and Evaluation 

Director, Program Analysis 

 and Evaluation

Department of Defense

Schedule C

GS-0301-13/01

$70,519

Assistant for Plans and 

 Integration

Office of the Under 

 Secretary of 

 Defense/Policy

Department of Defense

GS-0301-13/01

$70,519

01/25/04

Special Assistant to the 

 Assistant Secretary of 

 Defense/Public Affairs 

 (Media Operations)

Assistant Secretary of 

 Defense (Public Affairs)

Department of Defense

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/00

$139,606

Senior Public Affairs 

 Advisor

Assistant Secretary of 

 Defense (Public 

 Affairs)

Department of Defense

ES-0301-00/00

$141,700

04/18/04

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 25 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Principal Director, Military 

 Personnel Policy

Principal Deputy Under 

 Secretary of Defense 

 (Personnel and Readiness)

Department of Defense

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/00

$131,342

Director, Officer and 

 Enlisted Personnel 

 Managementc

Principal Deputy Under 

 Secretary of Defense 

 (Personnel and 

 Readiness)

Department of Defense

ES-0301-00/00

$131,342

08/08/04

Manager

Program 

 Engineering/Management

 Support Director

Program Director

Department of the Navy

Limited 

 emergency 

 SES

ES-0801-00/02

$126,255

Deputy Chief Engineer

Assistant Secretary to 

 the Navy (Research, 

 Development and 

 Acquisition)

Department of the Navy

ES-0801-00/00

$139,967

05/16/04

Director, IRAQ Telecommunications 

 Reconstruction and 

 Technical Programs 

 Management

Assistant Secretary of 

 Defense (Networks and 

 Information Integration)

Department of Defense

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/00

$122,400

Director, Contingency 

 Support and Migration 

 Planningc

Assistant Secretary of 

 Defense (Networks 

 and Information 

 Integration)

Department of Defense

ES-0301-00/00

$122,400

01/09/05

Director, Center of 

 Excellence

Center of Excellence in 

 Disaster Management and 

 Humanitarian Assistance

Department of the Navy

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/00

$124,884

Director, Center of 

 Excellence

Center of Excellence in

 Disaster Management 

 and Humanitarian 

 Assistance

Department of the Navy

ES-0301-00/00

$130,918

10/03/04

Department of Education

Special Assistant

Office of Postsecondary 

 Education

Department of Education

Schedule C

GS-0301-15/10

$124,783

Director, Fund for the

 Improvement of 

 Postsecondary 

 Education

ES-1720-00/06

$142,500

06/15/03

Deputy Assistant Secretary

 for Process Improvement

Office of Management

Department of Education

Noncareer SES

ES-0301-00/00

$131,342

Deputy Chief 

 Information 

 Officer/Chief 

 Technology Officer

Office of the Chief 

 Information Officer

ES-2210-00/00

$142,500

03/15/04

Executive Assistant

Office of Postsecondary 

 Education

Department of Education 

Schedule C

GS-0301-15/08

$123,622

Supervisory Management/

 Program Analyst

Office of Postsecondary 

 Education

GS-0343-15/08

$123,622

11/14/04

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 26 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Department of Energy

Special Assistant to the 

 Chief Information Officer

Federal Emergency 

 Management Agency 

Schedule C

GS-0301-15/03

$104,559

Supervisory Information 

 Technology Specialist

Chief Information 

 Officer

GS-2210-15/03

$106,914

01/25/04

Department of Health and Human Services

Confidential Assistant to the 

 Executive Secretary

The Executive Secretariat

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Schedule C

GS-0301-12/02

$57,550

Policy Coordinator

Office of the Secretary

GS-0301-12/02

$57,550

08/26/02

Project Manager

Program Support Center

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Limited term

 SES

ES-0301-00/03

$137,901

Director of Operationsc

Program Support Center

ES-0301-00/03

$137,901

07/28/02

Director of Human 

 Resources 

Program Support Center 

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Limited term

 SES

ES-0301-00/02

$131,881

Director of Human 

 Resourcesc

Program Support Center

ES-0301-00/02

$131,881

08/11/02

Director, Competitive 

 Sourcing Unit

Program Support Center

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/01

$125,972

Director of 

 Administrative

 Operationsc

Program Support Center

ES-0342-01/00

$125,972

08/11/02

Special Advisor for 

 Information Technology

Food and Drug 

 Administration

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Limited term

 SES

ES-2210-00/03

$137,901

Chief Information 

 Officer

Food and Drug 

 Administration

ES-2210-03/00

$137,901

12/29/02

Project Manager 

Financial Management

Program Support Center

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0510-00/02

$136,006

Director, Division of 

 Financial Operationsc

Program Support Center

ES-0510-00/02

$136,006

02/23/03

Chief Information Officer

Office of Budget, 

 Technology, and Finance

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Limited term 

 SES

ES-2210-00/03

$165,198

Chief Information

 Officer

Office of the Assistant 

 Secretary for Planning 

 and Evaluation

ES-2210-00/03

$165,198

04/20/03

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 27 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Associate Director for Policy

Centers for Medicare and 

 Medicaid Services

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Limited term 

 SES 

ES-0340/00-01

$131,342

Director, Hospital and 

 Ambulatory Policy 

 Groupc

Centers for Medicare

 and Medicaid Services

ES-0340-00/01

$131,342

11/02/03

Program Manager E-Grants 

 Initiative

Office of the Assistant 

 Secretary for 

 Administration and 

 Management

Department of Health and 

 Human Services 

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/00

$137,543

Director, Office of 

 Grants Management 

 and Policyc

Office of the Assistant 

 Secretary for 

 Administration and 

 Management

ES-1101-00/00

$137,543

04/04/04

Director of Administrative 

 Operations

Program Support Center

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0342-00/01

$137,543

Director, Office of 

 Acquisition 

 Management and 

 Policy c

Office of the Assistant 

 Secretary for 

 Administration and 

 Management

ES-1102-00/00

$137,543

04/04/04

Director Human Resources 

 (Site Director)

Program Support Center

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0201-00/00

$136,184

Director Human 

 Resources Center 

 (Atlanta)c

Program Support Center

ES-0201-00/00

$136,184

05/30/04

Senior Staff Fellow

Health Resources and 

 Services Administration

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42 

AD-0685-00/00

$105,445

Public Health Analystc

Health Resources and 

 Services Administration

GS-0685-14/10

$110,775

06/02/04

Senior Staff Fellow 

Health Resources and 

 Services Administration

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42 

AD-0685-00/00

$105,445

Public Health Analystc

Health Resources and 

 Services 

 Administration

GS-0685-14/10

$110,775

06/13/04

Director, Division of State 

 and Community 

 Assistance, Bureau of 

 Primary Health Care

Health Resources and 

 Services Administration

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42

AD-0685-00/00

$117,330

Supervisory Public 

 Health Analystc 

Health Resources and 

 Services Administration

GS-0685-15/07

$120,280

07/25/04

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 28 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Special Assistant to the 

 Deputy Director for Office 

 of Child Support 

 Enforcement 

 Administration for Children

 and Families

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Schedule C

GS-0301-14/03

$90,891

Information 

 Management 

 Dissemination 

 Coordinatorc

Office of the Assistant 

 Secretary for Planning 

 and Evaluation

GS-0301-14/03

$90,891

09/19/04

Senior Staff Fellow

Food and Drug 

 Administration

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42

AD-0415-00/00

$79,319

Biologist

Food and Drug 

 Administration

GS-0401-13/04

$79,319

10/17/04

Human Resources Payroll 

 Enterprise Manager

Program Support Center

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Limited term 

 SES

ES-2210-00/00

$132,261

Director Human

 Resources Systemsc

Program Support Center

ES-0301-00/00

$140,196

10/31/04

Director, Business 

 Technology Optimization 

 Initiative

Program Support Center

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/00

$143,498

Director, Business 

 Technology 

 Optimizationc

Program Support Center

ES-0301-00/00

$145,600

12/12/04

Research Fellow

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services 

Title 42

AD-0601-00/00

$72,918

Statistician (Research)

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-1530-14/01

$85,210

12/12/04

Secretary Regional 

 Representative

Office of the Regional 

 Director

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Schedule C

GS-0301-15/07

$122,471

Regional Administrator 

Administration of Aging

Department of Health 

 and Human Services

GS-0101-15/07

$122,471

01/23/05

Clinical Research Nurse

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42 

AD-0610-01/00

$70,725

Nurse Specialist 

 (Research)

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0610-12/02

$72,291

03/06/05

Clinical Research Nurse

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42 

AD-0610-01/00

$67,371

Nurse Specialist 

 (Research)

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0610-11/10

$68,209

03/06/05

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 29 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Research Fellow

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42 

AD-0401-00/00

$65,816

Technical Lab Managerc

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0601-12/03

$67,077

03/06/05

Scientific Review 

 Administrator

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42 

AD-0403-00/00

$115,955

Health Scientist 

 Administratorc

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0403-15/05

$117,809

03/06/05

Health Scientist 

 Administrator

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42 

AD-0601-00/00

$50,328

Health Scientist 

 Administratorc

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0601-12/01

$62,886

03/06/05

Research Fellow

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42 

AD-0602-00/00

$69,071

Health Scientist 

 Administratorc

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0601-13/01

$74,782

03/20/05

Biologist

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42 

AD-0401-00/00

$87,154

Health Scientist 

 Administratorc

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0601-14/01

$88,369

03/20/05

Health Scientist 

 Administrator (Biological 

 Sciences)

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42 

AD-0601-00/00

$110,005

Health Scientist 

 Administrator

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0601-14/09

$111,936

03/20/05

Senior Advisor International 

 Technology Transfer

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42

AD-0601-00/00

$107,013

Senior Advisor for 

 International

 Technology Transferc

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0601-15/02

$107,413

04/03/05

Health Scientist 

 Administrator 

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42

AD-0601-00/00

$60,888

Health Scientist 

 Administrator

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0601-13/01

$74,782

04/03/05

Senior Clinical Fellow

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42

AD-0602-00/00

$136,078

Medical Officer 

 (Pediatrics)c

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0601-14/10

$114,882

04/17/05

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 30 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Administrative Officer

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Schedule A

GS-0341-09/02

$44,810

Administrative Officer

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0341-11/01

$52,468

04/17/05

Health Scientist 

 Administrator

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42 

AD-0601-00/00

$59,310

Health Scientist 

 Administratorc

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0601-12/01

$62,886

02/06/05

Health Scientist

 Administrator

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42

AD-0601-00/00

$90,532

Health Scientist 

 Administrator

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0601-15/01

$103,947

03/20/05

Expert

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Title 42

AD-0601-00/00

$88,697

Technology Transfer 

 Specialist

National Institutes of 

 Health

GS-0601-14/03

$94,260

03/20/05

Associate Director, Office of 

 Operations Management

Centers for Medicare and 

 Medicaid Services

Department of Health and 

 Human Services

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0340-00/00

$132,262

Deputy Director, Office

 of Operations 

 Management

Centers for Medicare

 and Medicaid Services

ES-0340-00/00

$132,262

08/08/04

Department of Homeland Security

Deputy Assistant Secretary 

 for Legislative Affairs

Immediate Office of the 

 Secretary

Department of Homeland

 Security

Noncareer SES

ES-0301-00/00

$131,342

International Programs 

 Coordinatorc

Immigration and 

 Customs Enforcement

GS-0301-15/10

$112,346

03/30/04

Staff Assistant

Federal Emergency 

 Management Agency 

Department of Homeland 

 Security

Schedule C

GS-0301-13/02

$70,559

Program Specialistc

Federal Emergency 

 Management Agency

GS-0301-13/02

$71,357

04/06/03

Policy Director for 

 Immigration

Border and Transportation 

 Security

Department of Homeland 

 Security

Schedule C 

GS-0301-15/02

$107,413

Management and

 Program Analystc

U.S. Visitor and 

 Immigration Status Indicator 

Technology 

 Program Office

GS-0343-15/02

$107,413

02/06/05

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 31 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Administrative Staff 

 Assistant

Office of the Secretary

Department of Housing and 

 Urban Development

Schedule A

GS-0303-09/01

$40,044

Staff Assistantc

Office of the Secretary

GS-0303-09/01

$40,044

08/04/03

Project Assistant

Office of the Secretary

Department of Housing and 

 Urban Development

Schedule A

GS-0301-07/01

$31,397

Office Assistantc

Office of Public and 

 Indian Housing

GS-0303-07/01

$31,397

05/09/02

Special Assistant

Office of General Counsel

Department of Housing and 

 Urban Development

Schedule C

GS-0301-13/04

$79,319

Attorney-Advisor

Office of General Counsel

GS-0905-13/04

$79,319

10/31/04

Department of the Interior

Associate Solicitor for Land 

 and Water Resources

Office of the Associate 

 Solicitor

Department of the Interior

Noncareer SES

ES-0905-00/01

$131,342

Regional Solicitor, 

 Rocky Mountain 

 Region 

Office of the Solicitor

ES-0905-00/01

$133,707

04/06/03

Counselor to the Solicitor

Immediate Office of the 

 Solicitor

Department of the Interior

Noncareer SES

ES-0905-00/00

$145,600

Regional Solicitor, 

 Intermountain Region

Office of the Solicitor 

ES-0905-00/00

$145,600

07/20/04

Executive Director, Office of 

 Historical Trust Accounting

Immediate Office of the 

 Secretary

Department of the Interior

Schedule A

GS-0501-15/10

$130,305

Executive Director, 

 Office of Historical 

 Trust Accounting

Immediate Office of the 

 Secretary

ES-0501-00/00

$145,600

08/16/04

Special Assistant

Region 9—Washington, D.C.

Director—U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service

Department of the Interior

Schedule C

GS-0301-14/03

$94,260

Fish and Wildlife 

 Administrator

Chief, Domestic Grants 

 Branch, Region 9— 

 Washington, D.C.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife

 Service

GS-0480-14/03

$94,260

03/06/05

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s 

 Office Eastern District of 

 Tennessee

Department of Justice

Presidential 

 Appointee

AD-0905-01/00

$113,500

Assistant U.S. Attorney 

 (Criminal)

United States Attorney’s 

 Office Eastern District 

 of Tennessee

AD-0905-29/00

$113,333

04/29/01

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 32 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s 

 Office Eastern District of 

 Missouri 

Department of Justice

Presidential 

 Appointee

AD-0905-01/00

$122,400

Assistant U.S. Attorney 

 (Financial Fraud)

United States Attorney’s 

 Office Eastern District

 of Missouri

AD-0905-29/00

$113,670

05/01/01

U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s 

 Office Western District of 

 Oklahoma 

Department of Justice

Presidential

 Appointee

AD-0905-01/00

$118,400

Assistant U.S. Attorney 

 (Criminal)

United States Attorney’s 

 Office Western District 

 of Oklahoma

AD-0905-26/00

$86,036

08/12/01

Special Assistant to the 

 Assistant Attorney General

Civil Rights Division

Department of Justice

Schedule C

GS-0905-14/01

$74,697

Attorney Advisor

Office of Legal Counsel

GS-0905-14/01

$74,697

09/17/01

Attorney Advisor

Civil Division

Department of Justice

Schedule C

GS-0905-13/03

$73,659

Trial Attorney

Civil Rights Division

GS-0905-14/01

$81,602

11/02/03

Counselor to the Assistant 

 Attorney General

Criminal Division

Department of Justice

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0905-00/02

$131,881

Trial Attorney (General)

Office of the Solicitor 

 General

GS-0905-15/10

$119,682

04/07/02

Deputy Director, Office of 

 Public Affairs

Office of Public Affairs

Department of Justice

Schedule C

GS-1035-15/01

$87,864

Public Affairs Specialistc

Federal Bureau of 

 Investigation

GS-1035-15/02

$95,129

12/09/02

Attorney Advisor

Office of the Assistant 

 Attorney General

Department of Justice

Schedule C

GS-0905-12/01

$55,694

Assistant U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s 

 Office Eastern Virginia

AD-0905-21/00

$57,970

09/08/02

Director, Executive Office 

 for United States Attorneys

Executive Office for United 

 States Attorneys

Department of Justice

Noncareer SES

ES-0905-00/04

$133,700

General Counselc

Federal Bureau of 

 Investigation

ES-0905-00/06

$138,200

09/22/02

Attorney Advisor

Executive Office for United 

 States Attorneys

Department of Justice

Schedule C

GS-0905-15/01

$95,987

Assistant U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s 

 Office Western 

 Washington 

AD-0905-25/00

$96,313

06/29/03

Special Assistant to the 

 Attorney General

Criminal Division

Department of Justice

Schedule C

GS-0905-15/10

$124,783

Assistant U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s 

 Office Eastern New 

 York

AD-0905-29/00

$131,317

06/15/03

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 33 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Special Assistant to the 

 Assistant Attorney General

Criminal Division

Department of Justice

Schedule C

GS-0301-14/01

$81,602

Assistant U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s 

 Office Eastern Virginia

AD-0905-21/00

$63,128

06/01/03

Special Assistant to the 

 Assistant Attorney General

Criminal Division

Department of Justice

Schedule C

GS-0301-12/01

$58,070

Trial Attorney

Criminal Division

GS-0905-12/01

$58,070

12/28/03

Research Assistant

Office of Public Affairs

Department of Justice

Schedule C

GS-0303-08/01

$34,772

Writer-Editorc

Federal Bureau of 

 Investigation

GS-1082-07/05

$36,687

03/23/03

Counsel to the Assistant 

 Attorney General

Civil Rights Division

Department of Justice 

Schedule C

GS-0905-15/03

$102,386

Trial Attorney

Civil Rights Division

GS-0905-15/03

$102,386

03/09/03

Chief of Staff

Criminal Division

Department of Justice

Noncareer SES

ES-0905-00/01

$129,874

Assistant U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s 

 Office Western North 

 Carolina

AD-0904-29/00

$122,111

01/12/03

Counselor to the Assistant 

 Attorney General

Civil Rights Division

Department of Justice

Noncareer SES

ES-0905-00/03

$142,500

Trial Attorney

Civil Rights Division

GS-0905-15/10

$124,783

11/02/03

Senior Advisor to the 

 Assistant Attorney General

Tax Division

Department of Justice

Schedule C

GS-0905-15/04

$110,256

Immigration Judge

Executive Office for 

 Immigration Review

IJ-0905-00/02

$128,127

04/04/04

Counsel to the Director

Executive Office for United 

 States Attorneys

Department of Justice

Schedule C

GS-0905-15/01

$100,231

Trial Attorney

Tax Division

GS-0905-15/01

$100,231

05/30/04

Attorney Advisor

Executive Office for United 

 States Attorneys

Department of Justice

Schedule C

GS-0905-15/04

$110,256

Assistant U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s 

 Office Massachusetts

AD-0905-24/00

$112,526

08/08/04

Principal Deputy Director

Office of the Assistant 

 Attorney General

Department of Justice

Noncareer SES

ES-0340-00/01

$131,342

Attorney Advisor

Criminal Division

GS-0905-15/10

$135,136

02/06/05

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 34 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Deputy General Counsel for

 Postsecondary and 

 Regulatory Service

Office of the General 

 Counsel

Department of Education

Noncareer SES

ES-0905-00/01

$125,972

Assistant U.S. Attorney 

 (Criminal)

United States Attorney’s

 Office Western North 

 Carolina

AD-0905-29/00

$113,563

02/06/05

Associate Director

Domestic Policy Council

The White House

3 U.S.C. 105

AD-0301-00/00

$61,000

Immigration Judge

Executive Office for 

 Immigration Review

IJ-0905-00/01

$113,904

03/20/05

Department of Labor

Special Assistant

Office of Disability 

 Employment Policy

Department of Labor

Schedule C

GS-0301-15/03

$102,386

Deputy Wage and Hour 

 Administrator 

 (Operations)

Employment Standards 

 Administration

ES-0301-00/01

$131,342

11/16/03

Confidential Assistant 

Office of the Secretary of 

 Labor

Department of Labor

Schedule C

GS-0301-11/02

$48,018

Staff Assistant

Women’s Bureau

GS-0301-09/09

$48,644

02/10/02

Senior Advisor for Policy and 

 Research

Individual Benefits Security

 Administration

Department of Labor

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0110-00/00

$140,569

Chief Economist and 

 Director of Policy and 

 Researchc

Employee Benefits 

 Security Administration

ES-0110-00/00

$140,569

09/05/04

Department of State

Program Specialist—Staffing

Office of the U.S. 

 Representative

Department of State

22 U.S.C. 287 

 (e) Excepted 

 Appointment

GG-0301-09/08

$46,596

Program Analyst

U.N. Resources 

 Management

GG-0343-11/04

$50,287

11/04/01

Special Advisor

Office of Assistant Secretary

Department of State

Schedule C

GS-0130-15/01

$87,864

Foreign Affairs Officer

Crime Programs 

 Divisions

GS-0130-14/07

$89,638

09/09/01

Department of the Treasury

Director, Human Resources

 System Office

Departmental Offices

Department of the Treasury

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/03

$137,901

Director, Office of 

 Human Resources 

 Enterprise Solutionsc

Departmental Offices

ES-0301-00/04

$138,200

10/06/02

Executive Director, Customs 

 Modernization Office

U.S. Customs Service 

Department of the Treasury

Limited term

 SES

ES-0340-00/02

$131,881

Executive Director, 

 Customs Modernization 

 Office

U.S. Customs Service

ES-0340-00/02

$131,881

12/01/02

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 35 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Director, Business Practices

Departmental Offices

Department of the Treasury

Limited term

 SES

ES-0301-00/01

$125,972

Director, Enterprise 

 Information Technology

 Business Planning

Departmental Offices

ES-0301-00/01

$125,972

12/01/02

Director, Office of 

 International Enforcement

Departmental Offices

Department of the Treasury

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/02

$137,543

Senior Advisor

Departmental Offices

GS-0301-15/10

$124,783

03/02/03

Senior Advisor (Enforcement 

 Operations)

Departmental Offices

Department of the Treasury

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/01

$131,342

Senior Advisor

Departmental Offices

GS-0301-15/10

$124,783

03/02/03

Director, Business Process 

 Reengineering

Departmental Offices

Department of the Treasury

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/01

$125,972

Deputy Assistant 

 Secretary for 

 Departmental Offices

 Operations

Departmental Offices

ES-0301-00/01

$131,342

07/27/03

Transition Executive for 

 Strategy

Internal Revenue Service

Department of the Treasury

Limited term 

 SES

ES-1811-00/04

$142,500

Director, Strategy

Internal Revenue 

 Service

ES-1811-00/04

$142,500

09/21/03

Project Director

Internal Revenue Service

Department of the Treasury

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0340-00/02

$142,500

Project Director

Internal Revenue 

 Service

ES-0340-00/02

$142,500

11/02/03

Director Business Systems 

 Modernization Office

Internal Revenue Service

Department of the Treasury

5 U.S.C. 9503

AD-0340-00/00

$181,400

Director Competitive 

 Sourcingc

Internal Revenue

 Service

ES-0340/04

$138,200

04/07/02

Special Assistant

Departmental Offices

Department of the Treasury

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/01

$131,342

Deputy Assistant 

 Secretary for 

 Headquarters 

 Operations

Departmental Offices

ES-0301-00/00

$137,910

10/03/04

Director

Stakeholder, Partnership, 

 Education, and 

 Communications

Internal Revenue Service

Department of the Treasury

5 U.S.C. 9503

AD-0340-00/00

$135,500

Director Stakeholder, 

 Partnership, 

 Education, and 

 Communications

Internal Revenue

 Service

ES-0340-00/00

$142,500

01/25/04

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 36 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Deputy to the Deputy 

 Assistant Secretary 

 (Workforce Management) 

 and Director, Office of 

 Workforce Solutions, 

 Development and Equal 

 Employment Opportunity

Departmental Offices 

Department of the Treasury

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/01

$131,342

Deputy (Workforce 

 Management)/Director, 

 Office of Workforce 

 Solutions, 

 Development and 

 Equal Employment 

 Opportunityc

Departmental Offices

ES-0301-00/00

$131,342

02/22/04

Director, Departmental 

 Offices Modernization 

 Project

Departmental Offices

Department of the Treasury

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/00

$131,342 

Departmental Budget 

 Directorc

Departmental Offices

ES-0301-00/00

$131,342

06/13/04

Director, Office of Budget 

 Formulation

Departmental Offices

Department of the Treasury

Limited term

 SES

ES-0301-00/01

$131,342

Deputy Chief Financial 

 Officer

Internal Revenue

 Service

ES-0505-00/00

$131,342

06/13/04

Director, Workforce 

 Technology

Departmental Offices

Department of the Treasury

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/00

$137,543

Director, Human 

 Resource Connect 

 Program Officec

Departmental Offices

ES-0301-00/00

$144,420

11/14/04

Department of Veterans Affairs

Purchasing Agent

Office of Procurement

U.S. House of 

 Representatives

Legislative 

 Branch

$92,271

Contract Specialist

VA Medical Center

GS-1102-11/10

$56,322

01/08/02

Scheduler/Office 

 Manager/Legislative 

 Assistant

U.S. House of 

 Representatives

Legislative 

 Branch

$45,000

Secretary

VA Medical Center

GS-0318-07/01

$32,447

01/25/04

District Director

U.S. House of 

 Representatives

Legislative 

 Branch

$86,200

Veterans Service 

 Representative 

Virginia Regional Office

GS-0996-07/10

$39,779

12/15/02

District Representative

U.S. House of 

 Representatives

Legislative 

 Branch

$74,000

Correspondence 

 Analystc

VA Medical Center

GS-0301-12/03

$67,476

02/06/05

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 37 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Special Assistant

Office of Chairman Stratton

Consumer Product Safety 

 Commission

Schedule C

GS-0301-15/10

$130,305

Director, Office of 

 International Programs 

 and Intergovernmental 

 Affairsc

Office of the Executive 

 Director

ES-0340-00/00

$131,342

04/04/04

Executive Assistant to the 

 Chairman

Office of Chairman Stratton

Consumer Product Safety 

 Commission

Schedule C

GS-0301-13/10

$97,213

Public Affairs Specialist

Office of Information 

 and Public Affairs

GS-1035-13/10

$97,213

02/06/05

General Counsel

Office of Chairman Stratton

Consumer Product Safety 

 Commission

Schedule C

GS-0905-15/10

$135,136

Associate Executive 

 Director for Compliance 

 and Administrative 

 Litigation

Office of Compliance

ES-0905-00/00

$149,200

01/09/05

Special Assistant (Legal)

Counselor to the Chairman

Office of Chairman Stratton

Consumer Product Safety 

 Commission

Schedule C 

GS-0301-15/01

$103,947

General Attorney

Office of General 

 Counsel

GS-0905-15/01

$103,947

04/03/05

Special Assistant (Legal)

Office of Chairman Stratton

Consumer Product Safety 

 Commission

Schedule C

GS-0301-15/10

$130,305

General Attorney

Office of General 

 Counsel

GS-0905-15/10

$135,136

02/06/05

Environmental Protection Agency

Information Management

 Specialist

Office of Administrative 

 Services 

Environmental Protection 

 Agency

Schedule C

GS-0301-14/04

$88,764

Management Specialistc

Office of Administrative

 Services

GS-0301-14/04

$89,764

05/18/03

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Confidential Assistant

Office of the Chairwoman

Equal Employment 

 Opportunity Commission

Schedule C

GS-0301-09/07

$43,984

Employment Survey 

 Program Specialist

Office of the 

 Chairwoman

GS-0301-09/07

$43,984

09/09/01

Federal Trade Commission

Special Advisor to the 

 Chairman Chief of Staff

Commissioner’s Office

Federal Trade Commission

Limited term

 SES

ES-0905-00/00

$145,600

Chief of Staff

Commissioner’s Office

ES-0905-00/00

$145,600

05/30/04

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 38 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

General Services Administration

Chief Technology Officer

Office of Citizen Services 

 and Communication

General Services 

 Administration

Schedule C

GS-0301-15/10

$124,783

Deputy Associate 

 Administrator for 

 Citizen Servicesc

Office of Citizen 

 Services and 

 Communications

ES-0340-00/01

$131,342

06/29/03

News Analyst

Office of the Secretary

Department of Commerce

Schedule C

GS-0301-12/02

$57,550

Program Analyst

Office of Citizen 

 Services and 

 Communications

GS-0343-13/01

$68,283

01/12/03

Confidential Assistant

Office of Intergovernmental 

 Affairs and Public Liaison

Department of Justice

Schedule C

GS-0303-10/02

$43,705

Special Assistant to the

 Regional Administrator

Office of Regional 

 Administrator

GS-0301-11/01

$47,245

10/21/02

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Manager, Federal Human 

 Resources Information 

 Systems (Systems 

 Integration)

Office of Human Resources 

 and Education

National Aeronautics and 

 Space Administration

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0201-00/01

$145,600

Director, Workforce and 

 Diversity Management 

 Office

Workforce and Diversity

 Management Office

ES-0301-00/00

$145,600

03/21/04

Special Assistant to the 

 Director 

NASA’s Independent 

 Verification and Validation 

 Facility

Office of the Director

National Aeronautics and 

 Space Administration

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0801-00/01

$131,342

Assistant Director for 

 Safety and Security

Office of the Director

ES-0801-00/02

$137,543

10/19/03

Triana Project Manager

Flight Programs and Projects 

 Director

National Aeronautics and 

 Space Administration

Limited term

 SES

ES-0801-00/02

$137,543

Deputy Associate 

 Directorc

Earth Observing System 

 Development

Flight Programs and 

 Projects Directorate

ES-0801-00/02

$137,543

08/24/03

Office of Personnel Management

Project Director for Human 

 Capital Performance

Office of the Director

Office of Personnel 

 Management

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0340-00/04

$138,200

Associate Director 

Agency Merit System 

 Accountability and 

 Human Resource 

 Programsc

Office of the Director

ES-0340-00/04

$138,200

12/01/02

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 39 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Source: GAO.

Senior Advisor for 

 Retirement and Insurance

Human Resources Products 

 and Services

Office of Personnel 

 Management

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/02

$137,543

Assistant Director 

 Retirement and 

 Insurance Support 

 Servicesc

Human Resources 

 Products and Services

ES-0340-00/02

$137,543

06/15/03

Senior Advisor for Executive 

 and Management 

 Development Programs

Human Resources Products

 and Services

Office of Personnel 

 Management

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/02

$137,543

Deputy Associate Director 

Natural Resources 

 Human Capital 

 Managementc

Human Capital 

 Leadership and Merit 

 System Accountability

ES-0340-00/02

$137,543

07/20/03

Senior Advisor for Employee 

 and Family Support Policy

Strategic Human Resources 

 Policy

Office of Personnel 

 Management

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/03

$142,500

Deputy Associate 

 Director 

Employee and Family 

 Support Policyc

Strategic Human

 Resources Policy

ES-0340-00/03

$142,500

07/13/03

Senior Advisor for Learning 

 and Knowledge 

 Management

Office of the Director

Office of Personnel 

 Management

Limited term 

 SES

ES-0301-00/04

$142,500

Director, Federal 

 Executive Institute

Human Resources 

 Products and Services

ES-0340-00/04

$142,500

07/20/03

Small Business Administration

Special Assistant to the 

 Administrator

Office of the Administrator

Small Business 

 Administration

Schedule C

GS-0301-13/04

$82,259

Administrative 

 Resources 

 Coordinatorc

Region IX

GS-0301-12/10

$85,744

03/06/05

Associate Deputy 

 Administrator for Capital 

 Access

Office of Capital Access

Small Business 

 Administration

Noncareer SES

ES-0340-00/00

$158,194

District Director

Region III

GS-0340-15/10

$131,839

03/13/05

Social Security Administration

Special Assistant to the 

 Commissioner

Office of the Commissioner

Social Security 

 Administration

Schedule C

GS-0301-13/02

$77,274

Public Affairs Specialist

Communications

GS-1035-14/01

$88,369

03/06/05

(Continued From Previous Page)

Noncareer Position Career Position

Title, office, and agency

Type of noncareer 

appointment, grade, 

and salarya,b Title and office

Career grade 

and salarya,b

Date 

converted
Appendix III

Noncareer Appointees Converted to Career 

Positions by Departments and Selected 

Agencies from May 1, 2001 - April 30, 2005

Page 40 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

a

Salary includes locality pay

b

Salary at time of conversion

c

Newly established position

Legend:

AD: Administratively determined; rate set by agency.

EJ: The Department of Energy Organization Act Excepted Service. Code is for use by the Department 

of Energy only.

ES: Senior Executive Service

GG: Grade similar to General Schedule

GS: General Schedule

IJ: Immigration Judge Schedule. The code is for use by the Department of Justice only.

IR: Internal Revenue Service Broadband Classification and Pay System Positions only. Code is for use 

by the Internal Revenue Service (Department of Treasury) only.

NH: Business Management and Technical Professional. DOD Acquisition Workforce Demonstration 

Project. Code is for use by the Department of the Air Force, Department of the Army, Department of 

Defense, and Department of the Navy only.

SK: Securities Exchange Commission individuals formerly under the GS, GM, and EZ pay plans. Code 

is for use by the Securities and Exchange Commission only.
Page 41 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed Appendix IV

For 18 of these conversions, it appears that agencies did not follow proper 

procedures or may have violated other statutory or regulatory 

requirements. OPM has oversight authority to ensure that agencies are 

following the merit system principles when hiring. In accordance with this 

authority, OPM has traditionally required agencies to seek its preappointment approval for the conversion of certain noncareer appointees 

(Schedule C and Noncareer SES) into certain career positions (competitive 

service and career SES) during a presidential election review period. OPM 

defined the most recent pre-appointment review period as beginning on 

March 18, 2004, and concluding on January 20, 2005, Inauguration Day. 

Additionally, career SES positions require a further review and approval of 

the merit staffing process by OPM, and the proposed selectee’s 

executive/managerial qualifications by an OPM-administered SES 

Qualifications Review Board (QRB) which are composed of members of 

the SES from across the government.

Seven of the 18 conversions were subject to OPM review and approval; 2 

because they fell within the presidential election pre-appointment review 

period as prescribed by OPM and 5 because they were to SES level 

positions. Of the 2 conversions subject to OPM’s presidential election preappointment review process, in one instance, it appeared the agency did 

not submit the conversion to OPM for its review. In the other instance, 

OPM reviewed the file but did not take timely action before the January 20, 

2005, deadline for the pre-appointment review period. Of the 5 conversions 

to SES level positions, an OPM-administered QRB reviewed and approved 

the selectee’s qualifications for each of these appointments, although in 

one case a QRB initially rejected the selectee’s qualifications, then a 

different QRB approved the selection after the agency revised and 

resubmitted its application.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 42 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 1: Department of Defense (DOD)

Positions: From Schedule C Appointment, GS-0301-13/01, Special Assistant to the 

Director, Program Analysis and Evaluation

To GS-0343-13/01, Assistant for Plans and Integration, Office of Assistant 

Secretary for Defense, Homeland Defense

Issue: Preselecting an applicant for a career position

Details: The eventual selectee served as a Schedule C Special Assistant to the 

Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from December 

2001 through August 2002. In September 2002, she was reassigned to 

another Schedule C position as a Special Assistant to the Director, Program 

Analysis and Evaluation. Official records indicate the eventual selectee 

occupied this position until her conversion to the career position of 

Assistant for Plans and Integration on January 25, 2004. However, 

according to her resume, the eventual selectee assumed the duties of the 

career position beginning in March of 2003. Based on her description, as 

the Assistant for Plans and Integration, the eventual selectee: (1) developed 

and integrated force employment and planning policy guidance related to 

homeland defense; (2) developed, organized, and coordinated policy 

guidance working groups with other DOD components related to homeland 

defense activities; (3) ensured policy oversight for force employment 

issues; and (4) provided recommendations to the Deputy Assistant 

Secretary for Force Planning and Employment and the Assistant Secretary 

of Defense for Homeland Defense.

The agency contracted with OPM’s Philadelphia field office to advertise 

and rate applications for the career position of Assistant for Plans and 

Integration in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for 

Homeland Defense. On November 20, 2003, OPM sent DOD a selection 

package containing a certificate listing eight eligible candidates in the order 

of their rating and their applications. Based on documents OPM provided 

to us, a 10-point compensable veteran1

 had the highest rating, and the 

eventual selectee was listed fourth. In a December 2, 2003, memorandum to 

1

Five-point preference is assigned to honorably separated veterans who served on active 

duty in the armed forces under certain circumstances. Ten-point preference is given to those 

honorably separated veterans who qualify as disabled veterans or are Purple Heart 

recipients. 5 U.S.C. §§ 2108, 3309.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 43 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

the selecting official, the Principal Director, Organizational Management 

and Support referred to the eventual selectee by name as the agency’s 

“primary candidate.” On December 30, 2003, the selecting official 

interviewed the veteran’s preference eligible, who voluntarily declined 

consideration for the position at that time. On the same day, the agency 

selected the former Schedule C appointee to the career position.

Conclusions: We did not receive a complete merit staffing file from DOD for this 

conversion. Based on the available documents, there is some evidence that 

DOD may have pre-selected the former Schedule C employee for the 

position. Pre-selecting an applicant for a career position would violate the 

statutory prohibition against granting unauthorized advantages to 

individuals in the hiring process. Since we were unable to review the 

resumes of all the applicants, we could not make a determination as to the 

comparative qualifications of the candidates, including the veteran’s 

preference eligible that declined the position.

OPM’s Role: Since this conversion did not occur in the presidential election review 

period, it was not subject to OPM’s pre-appointment review.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 44 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 2: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Positions: From Statutory At-Will, Title 42 U.S.C. § 209(g), AD-0602-00/00, Research 

Fellow, National Institutes of Health

To GS-0601-13/01, Health Scientist Administrator, National Institutes of 

Health

Issue: Creating career positions specifically for particular individuals

Details: The eventual selectee worked as a statutory-at-will Title 42 Research 

Fellow at the National Institutes of Health for almost 5 years prior to 

applying for the career position of Health Scientist Administrator. 

According to her resume, as a research fellow, she was assigned to a variety 

of work details involving both scientific and administrative duties within 

the Basic Neurosciences Program at the National Institute for Neurological 

Disorders and Stroke.

On December 18, 2004, the selecting official expressed interest in hiring the 

eventual selectee (identifying the individual by name) as a program officer 

and requested the creation of a full-time equivalent position for that 

purpose. This request to hire the eventual selectee was approved by agency 

officials in an electronic mail correspondence dated December 22, 2004. On 

January 12, 2005, the health scientist administrator position was created in 

the Division of Basic Neuroscience and Behavioral Research. According to 

the position description, as health scientist administrator, the individual 

would be responsible for organizing an extramural research program to 

support the study of neurobiology as it relates to chemical addiction and 

neuroimmunology in AIDS research. The agency advertised the position, 19 

individuals applied, and four candidates were certified as eligible for 

consideration. The eventual selectee had the lowest rating of the four 

candidates (one candidate subsequently declined prior to the selection 

being made), but was selected for the position on February 1, 2005. 

Conclusions: The documents provided to us suggest the position may have been created 

specifically to hire the eventual selectee. This would represent a preselection of an applicant, which would violate the statutory prohibition 

against granting unauthorized advantages to individuals in the hiring 

process.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 45 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

OPM’s Role: Since this conversion did not occur in the presidential election review 

period and did not involve a Schedule C or Noncareer SES appointee, it 

was not subject to OPM’s pre-appointment review.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 46 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 3: Department of Health and Human Services

Positions: From Statutory At-Will, Title 42 U.S.C. § 209(f) AD-0403-00/00, Scientific 

Review Administrator, National Institutes of Health

To GS-0601-15/05, Health Scientist Administrator, National Institutes of 

Health

Issue: Creating career positions specifically for particular individuals

Details: The eventual selectee served in a statutory-at-will Title 42 position as 

Scientific Review Administrator from March 2001 to March 2005. Prior to 

this, the eventual selectee had served within the Division of Extramural 

Activities at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases 

(NIAID) for several years in a competitive position. She listed the following 

responsibilities for the statutory at-will position on her resume: (1) 

performed special scientific reviews and lead the initiation, planning, 

management, and oversight of division activities related to international 

research funding and resource management, (2) represented the division 

director at meetings that discuss extramural international grants, 

contracts, and capacity sustainability in developed and developing 

countries, (3) helped develop policies that affect foreign research funding 

and methods to improve financial management of international awards, 

and (4) managed the NIAID Select Agent process to assist with the 

biodefense program.

On April 9, 2004, agency officials, including the selecting official, circulated 

a position description for the recruitment of a director for the Office of 

International Extramural Activities. The routing slip stated that this 

position description was to recruit the eventual selectee by name. On June 

24, 2004, a new interdisciplinary competitive service position was created 

in the Division of Extramural Activities. On January 12, 2005, the agency 

advertised the new position as Director, Office of International Extramural 

Activities. The position description stated that the director, among other 

duties, would: (1) lead the initiation, planning, management, and oversight 

of division activities related to international research funding and resource 

management, (2) be the senior advisor and management official concerning 

the management of international research awards, (3) help develop policies 

and systems that affect foreign research funding, and assist international 

parties to design contract management systems, and (4) be the expert 

advisor to the NIAID on biodefense issues. The agency advertised the 
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 47 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

position; three applicants applied; and only the eventual selectee was 

certified as eligible for consideration. The agency selected her for the 

position on February 4, 2005. 

Conclusions: Two factors taken together create the appearance that the individual may 

have been preselected for this position, including: (1) the routing slip 

circulated within the agency specifically identifying the eventual selectee 

by name, and (2) clear and extensive overlap/similarities between 

responsibilities previously cited by the eventual selectee and the duties 

listed in the description of the newly created position. Pre-selecting an 

individual or applicant for a competitive position grants an unauthorized 

preference to an individual in the employment process, and is a violation of 

federal law.

OPM’s Role: Since this conversion did not occur in the presidential election review 

period and did not involve a Schedule C or Noncareer SES appointee, it 

was not subject to OPM’s pre-appointment review.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 48 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 4: Department of Health and Human Services

Positions: From Schedule C, GS-0301-14/03, Special Assistant to the Deputy Director 

for Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for Children and 

Families 

To GS-0301-14/03, Information Management and Dissemination 

Coordinator, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

Issue: Failure to apply veteran’s preference

Details: Prior to appointment to the career position, the eventual selectee served 

for over 2 years as a Schedule C Special Assistant to the Deputy Director in 

the Office of Child Support Enforcement. According to the special assistant 

position description, the eventual selectee served as a principal source of 

advice and counsel to the Deputy Director/Commissioner on various 

assignments, projects and work groups involving program policies, 

reviews, evaluations, plans, and approaches that affected the Office of 

Child Support Enforcement.

On April 4, 2004, HHS created, and 2 weeks later, advertised the 

Information Management and Dissemination Coordinator position in the 

Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. 

The position description provided that the coordinator would be the senior 

advisor for the office’s information dissemination and communication 

program, leading content and technical aspects of the development and use 

of technology-based solutions.

Eleven applicants were certified as eligible for consideration, including 

three veteran’s preference eligibles. After preference points were allocated, 

both the eventual selectee and a veteran’s preference eligible candidate 

received the highest scores of 100 points on the rating tool. In accordance 

with law,2

 the veteran’s preference eligible candidate was listed first on the 

certificate of eligibles, but the agency passed over this candidate to choose 

the selectee for the position on September 19, 2004. Agencies may pass 

over veteran’s preference eligible candidates based on 

2

5 U.S.C. § 3313.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 49 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

suitability grounds,3 or may ask OPM to disqualify an eligible candidate due 

to medical reasons.4

 However, in exercising their authority, agencies must 

file written reasons5 for passing over a veteran’s preference eligible, either 

with OPM or with a delegated examining authority.6

 The selection 

certificate contained a handwritten notation referring to a veteran’s 

preference objection letter. However, no such letter or approval from the 

examining office7

 was contained in the file provided to us. 

Conclusions: Based on the available documents, it appears the agency did not follow, or 

did not properly document that it followed, statutorily-required veteran’s 

preference hiring procedures for competitive service appointments. 

OPM’s Role: Since this conversion involved a former Schedule C appointee and took 

place during the presidential election review period, this conversion was 

subject to OPM’s pre-appointment review. The agency should have referred 

the case to OPM prior to appointing the selectee to the position. Based on 

available documents from both HHS and OPM, there is no indication 

whether this referral or review occurred.

3

5 C.F.R. § 731.103(a)

4

5 C.F.R. § 339.201.

5

5 U.S.C. § 3318(b)(1).

6

OPM has delegated most of the examining and hiring process to individual agencies, but 

agencies must follow OPM's Delegated Examining Operations Handbook in making 

appointments to the competitive service. 5 U.S.C. § 1104.

7

According to OPM's Delegated Examining Operations Handbook, if an appointing official 

wishes to pass over a preference eligible, he or she must file written reasons with an 

appropriate agency official, who must rule on whether the reasons are sufficient to justify 

the passover. 5 C.F.R. § 731.103(a).
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 50 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 5: Department of Health and Human Services

Positions: From Statutory At-Will, Title 42 U.S.C. § 209(f) AD-0401-00/00, Biologist, 

National Institutes of Health

To GS-0601-14/01, Health Scientist Administrator National Institutes of 

Health

Issue: Failure to apply veteran’s preference

Details: The eventual selectee served as a Title 42 Biologist in the Office of Policy 

Analysis for over 2 years prior to applying for the career position. Based on 

her resume, in the Biologist position the eventual selectee carried out a 

range of responsibilities related to scientific program reporting, strategic 

planning, and program evaluation.

On February 8, 2005, HHS advertised a career position of Health Scientist 

Administrator in the Office of Policy Analysis. The position description 

listed responsibility for scientific planning, program reporting, and the 

development of materials on biodefense research efforts.

Eleven applicants applied for the position, including a 5-point compensable 

veteran and a 10-point compensable veteran.8

 Applicants were assigned 

scores based on their online responses and a computer-based scoring 

system. Agencies are required to assign additional points to qualifying 

veteran’s scores during the rating and ranking process.9

 Based on the 

applicant listing HHS provided, applicant scores were not adjusted for 

veteran’s preference. Had the adjustment for veteran’s preference been 

made, both the 5-point and 10-point compensable veterans would have 

rated higher and been listed ahead of the eventual selectee on the 

certificate of eligibles. In the absence of veteran’s preference points, three 

individuals (the eventual selectee, another nonveteran, and the 10-point 

compensable veteran) were referred to the selecting official, and because 

veteran’s preference points were not assigned, the eventual selectee had 

8

Five-point preference is assigned to honorably separated veterans who served on active 

duty in the armed forces under certain circumstances. Ten-point preference is given to those 

honorably separated veterans who qualify as disabled veterans or are Purple Heart 

recipients. 5 U.S.C. §§ 2108, 3309.

9

5 U.S.C. §§ 3309, 3313.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 51 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

the highest score on the certificate of eligibles. Selection was made on 

March 1, 2005.

Conclusions: Based on the documents provided to us, it appeared that HHS did not apply 

veteran’s preference points for two applicants. Had HHS assigned veteran’s 

preference points, both of the veterans would have ranked higher than the 

eventual selectee on the final rating sheet, and the agency would have had 

to file written reasons for passing them over.

OPM’s Role: Since this conversion did not occur in the presidential election review 

period and did not involve a Schedule C or Noncareer SES appointee, it 

was not subject to OPM’s pre-appointment review.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 52 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 6: Department of Health and Human Services

Positions: From SES Limited Term Appointment, ES-301-00/01, Director, Competitive 

Sourcing Unit, Program Support Center

To ES-0342-01/00, Director, Office of Administrative Operations, Program 

Support Center

Issue: Tailoring of career position qualifications to match an individual’s 

experience

Details: Prior to the conversion, the eventual selectee served for 6 months in the 

SES Limited Term Position. According to the position description, as 

Director he was responsible for designing HHS’s implementation of the 

Competitive Sourcing Initiative and serving as the Acting Director of the 

Administrative Operations Service (AOS). In his resume, the eventual 

selectee emphasized his role as Acting Director of AOS, stating that he was 

responsible for providing HHS and other federal customers nationwide 

administrative and technical services in areas such as (1) building 

operations, surplus real property, leasing, security, property management, 

warehousing, logistics and management services; (2) printing, duplicating 

and typesetting; (3) operation of reference libraries; (4) mail distribution 

and handling; (5) claims service for Public Health Service components 

nationwide under specific statutory authorities; (6) acquisition service; 

(7) pharmaceutical, medical, dental supplies to federal agencies and other 

related nonfederal customers; (8) technical graphics and photography 

services; and (9) a wide range of technology and telecommunications 

services. 

On May 24, 2002, HHS advertised the SES Director of AOS position, open to 

qualified federal employees. In both the position description and the 

vacancy announcement, one of the mandatory professional/managerial 

qualifications specified for the position was “experience in delivering and 

managing a wide range of administrative support services to a diverse, 

complex, and large customer base requiring such services such as (1) 

building operations, surplus real property, leasing, security, property 

management, warehousing, logistics and management services; (2) 

printing, duplicating and typesetting; (3) operation of reference libraries; 

(4) mail distribution and handling; (5) claims service for PHS components 

nationwide under specific statutory authorities; (6) acquisition service; (7) 

pharmaceutical, medical, dental supplies to federal agencies and other 
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 53 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

related nonfederal customers; (8) technical graphics and photography 

services; and (9) a wide range of technology and telecommunications 

services.” An agency panel rated the eventual selectee and two other 

candidates as highly qualified for the position, then referred all three to the 

selecting official. Four other candidates were also referred to the selecting 

official as qualified applicants based on their SES status. The selecting 

official, who was also the eventual selectee’s supervisor at that time, 

selected him for the position on July 8, 2002. Although an internal agency 

memo directs the selecting official to provide a brief statement of the 

rationale for hiring individuals, no such documentation was in the file we 

were provided on this selection. 

Conclusions: Based on the documents, it appears the agency may have tailored the 

qualifications for the career position for the purpose of improving an 

individual’s prospects for employment. Further, one of the mandatory 

technical qualifications specified for the new position appeared to be 

tailored to the selectee’s previous experience. Such a situation could both 

unnecessarily limit the applicant pool, but also provide an individual an 

unfair advantage. Including such a specific qualification without prior 

consultation with OPM would also violate qualifications standards 

regulations for General SES positions.10 There was no evidence within the 

file to suggest the agency consulted with OPM prior to setting the 

qualifications standards. 

OPM’s Role: The selectee’s executive qualifications were approved by an OPMadministered QRB on July 30, 2002.

105 C.F.R. §§ 318.402(c), 318.403.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 54 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 7: Department of Health and Human Services

Positions: From SES Limited Term Appointment, ES-0301-00/00, Program Manager, EGrants Initiative, Office of Assistant Secretary for Administration and 

Management

To ES-1101-00/00, Director, Office of Grants Management and Policy, Office 

of Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management

Issue: Tailoring of career position qualifications to match an individual’s 

experience

Details: The eventual selectee was appointed Program Manager of the E-Grants 

Initiative, a SES Limited Term position, on March 24, 2002, and held the 

position for approximately 2 years. Prior to this appointment, the eventual 

selectee had been a career civil servant at the National Institutes of Health 

in various positions from 1981 through 1999, prior to leaving to work in the 

private sector, then being rehired as an excepted service consultant to HHS 

in 2001. On February 10, 2002, the eventual selectee was reinstated to a 

career position at HHS. According to his application, as Program Manager 

of the E-Grant Initiative, the eventual selectee led the management and 

development of Grants.gov and built consensus through outreach to 

grantors and grantees as well as making presentations to OMB, HHS 

leadership and the Federal Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Council. 

Beginning in June 2003, the role of acting director for the newly created 

Office of Grants Management and Policy was added to the eventual 

selectee’s responsibilities in the SES Limited Term position. 

On October 10, 2003, HHS created, and then 3 weeks later advertised, the 

director position open to all sources. According to the vacancy 

announcement, the duties and responsibilities within the Immediate Office 

of the Director were to support government electronics grants, including 

outreach to grantors and grantees, and interfacing with OMB, the Federal 

Council and HHS leadership. Additionally, the director would also be 

responsible for the Division of Grants Policy and the Division of Grants 

Oversight and Review. As a mandatory professional/technical qualification 

for this position, applicants were required to possess progressively 

responsible management experience in the E-Grants Initiative that 

demonstrated in-depth knowledge of outreach efforts and interfaces with 

OMB, Federal CFO Council, and HHS leadership on Grants.gov, and 
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 55 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

included at least one year of specialized experience in the E-Grants 

Initiative at the GS-15 or equivalent level.

There were two printed rosters listing the seven applicants included in the 

merit staffing file we were provided. The first roster listed five candidates 

as qualified, with hand-written annotations towards the not qualified 

category for 4 of these 5. The second roster listed only the eventual 

selectee as qualified and only he was referred to the rating panel. Since 

there were no documents included for the other applicants within the file, a 

review of the referral process to the rating panel was not possible. The 

selecting official, who was the selectee’s supervisor at the time, chose him 

for the position on January 30, 2004.

Conclusions: Based on the documents, it appears the agency may have tailored the 

qualifications for the career position for the purpose of improving an 

individual’s prospects for employment. First, the duties defined closely 

correlated with those performed by the eventual selectee in the Limited 

Term SES Program Manager position. Further, one of the mandatory 

professional technical qualifications appeared to be tailored to the 

selectee’s experience. In addition, the requirement of in-depth knowledge 

of the E-grants program likely excluded any nonfederal applicants. 

Including such a specific qualification without prior consultation with OPM 

would violate qualifications standards regulations for General SES 

positions. There was no evidence within the file to suggest the agency 

consulted with OPM prior to setting the qualifications standards. Defining 

the scope or manner of competition or the requirements for any position 

for the purpose of improving or injuring the prospects of any particular 

person for employment would violate federal law.11

OPM’s Role: The selectee’s executive qualifications were approved by an OPMadministered QRB on April 2, 2004.

115 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(6).
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 56 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 8: Department of Health and Human Services

Positions: From Schedule C Appointment, GS-0301-12/02, Confidential Assistant to 

the Executive Secretary, The Executive Secretariat

To GS-0301-12/02, Policy Coordinator, Office of the Secretary of Health and 

Human Services

Issue: Tailoring of career position qualifications to match an individual’s 

experience

Details: The eventual selectee served as a Schedule C Confidential Assistant to the 

Executive Secretary for a year and a half prior to applying for the career 

position. Before this, the eventual selectee worked for the Secretary for 

almost 4 years as a policy analyst when the Secretary was Governor of 

Wisconsin. According to his resume, as the Confidential Assistant to the 

Executive Secretary, the eventual selectee (1) directly supported the 

Secretary of HHS by coordinating briefing materials, (2) provided relevant 

information regarding meetings, briefings, and speaking engagements,

(3) reviewed and produced documents requiring the Secretary’s approval, 

(4) developed the Secretary’s daily calendar, (5) facilitated meetings with 

the administrative staff of the office, and (6) analyzed policy decisions for 

their potential impact on the Department.

On June 4, 2002, HHS posted a vacancy announcement for the reestablished career position12 of Policy Coordinator in the Office of the 

Secretary. According to the position description and vacancy 

announcement, the individual selected for this position would (1) review 

documents requiring the Secretary’s approval, (2) be a technical source of 

information, (3) represent the Executive Secretary to other government 

officials, (4) develop background papers to brief the Secretary and other 

department officials, and (5) coordinate and facilitate meetings. 

Of the 53 applicants, 5 were referred to the selecting official after being 

assigned numerical scores and 4 were referred as eligible based on their 

career status. The eventual selectee received the highest numerical score; 

however, the file contained no documentation to show how points were 

12Agencies may re-establish or recertify career positions after they have been created but 

remain vacant. 
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 57 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

assigned or who rated the applicants. The selecting official, who was also 

the selectee’s supervisor at the time, made the selection on August 1, 2002.

Conclusions: The duties and responsibilities of the Schedule C and career positions 

overlap substantially and are located in the same office with a similar 

supervisory structure, giving the appearance that the agency may have 

tailored qualifications for the position for the purpose of improving an 

individual’s prospects for employment. Although the selectee received the 

highest score, there is no documentation explaining how the score was 

assigned, or who assigned it. 

OPM’s Role: Since this conversion did not occur in the presidential election review 

period, it was not subject to OPM’s pre-appointment review.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 58 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 9: Department of Health and Human Services 

Positions: From SES Limited Term Appointment, ES-0201-00/00, Director, Human 

Resources (Site Director) Atlanta, Program Support Center

To ES-0201-00/00, Director, Human Resources Center, Atlanta, Program 

Support Center

Issue: Posting SES vacancy announcements for less than the minimum time 

requirement

Details: Prior to appointment to the SES career position as Director, Human 

Resources Center in Atlanta, the eventual selectee served in a similar 

position for a year under a Limited Term appointment. Before this, she had 

held career positions for 23 years. At the time of the SES Limited Term 

appointment on May 18, 2003, the eventual selectee had achieved a position 

within HHS at the GS-15 level.

HHS posted a vacancy announcement on USA Jobs for a SES position as 

Director, Human Resources Center in Atlanta, who would be responsible 

for providing a variety of human resources services to the Center for 

Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The announcement was open 

from March 22, 2004, to April 2, 2004, a period of 12 days. Eleven applicants 

applied, and of these, three were certified as eligible for consideration. 

Selection was made on April 14, 2004.

Conclusions: HHS posted the position on USA Jobs for only 12 days. This appears to be a 

violation of OPM’s regulations which require SES job listings to be posted 

for a minimum of 14 days.13

OPM’s Role: The selectee’s executive qualifications were approved by an OPMadministered QRB on May 21, 2004.

135 C.F.R. § 318.501(b)(2).
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 59 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 10: Department of Health and Human Services

Positions: From SES Limited Term Appointment, ES-0510-00/02 Project Manager, 

Financial Management, Acting Director, Division of Financial Operations, 

Program Support Center

To ES-0510-00/02, Director, Division of Financial Operations, Program 

Support Center

Issue: Posting SES vacancy announcements for less than the minimum time 

requirement

Details: Prior to appointment to the SES career position as Director, Division of 

Financial Operations, the eventual selectee served as a Project Manager 

(with Acting Director duties for the Division of Financial Operations) for 

over a year under a Limited Term SES appointment. At the time of the 

conversion, the eventual selectee had been employed with HHS for almost 

32 years, 30 of which were in career positions.

HHS posted a vacancy announcement on USA Jobs for the director position 

to lead the operation of HHS’ Debt Collection Center and other core 

financial accounting systems managed by the division. The announcement 

opening date was August 13, 2002, and it closed on August 19, 2002, a 

period of 7 days. Four applicants applied, and of these, three were certified 

as eligible for consideration. Selection was made on October 3, 2002.

Conclusions: HHS posted the career SES position on USA Jobs for only 7 days. This 

appears to be a violation of OPM’s regulations which require SES job 

listings to be posted for 14 days.14

OPM’s Role: The selectee’s executive qualifications were approved by an OPMadministered QRB on February 21, 2003.

145 C.F.R. § 318.501(b)(2).
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 60 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 11: Department of Homeland Security

Positions: From Schedule C GS-0301-13/02, Staff Assistant, Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) 

To GS-0301-13/02, Program Specialist, Federal Emergency Management 

Agency 

Issue: Selection of former noncareer appointee who appears to have limited 

qualifications and experience to a career position

Details: The eventual selectee served as a Schedule C Staff Assistant at FEMA, 

initially in the Office of General Counsel (OGC), then in the Regional 

Operations Directorate for 14 months prior to applying for the career 

position. Although the staff assistant position description provided by the 

agency outlined a primarily advisory and administrative support role, the 

eventual selectee’s resume listed the following responsibilities as part of 

the position (1) conceive and implement new initiatives and projects to 

facilitate and integrate emergency management programs, and (2) 

formulate, present, and execute budgets. Before joining the federal 

government, the eventual selectee had worked for 4 years in the private 

sector for the former FEMA Director prior to his appointment. 

Beginning on January 28, 2003, the agency advertised the Program 

Specialist position for 2 weeks. The duties listed for this position in the 

vacancy announcement included among others (1) conceive and 

implement new initiatives and projects to strengthen emergency 

management programs, (2) be the authoritative resource for coordinating 

and developing long-term planning for regional offices, (3) allocate 

resources in accordance with short and long range plans, (4) maintain an 

intimate knowledge of agency policies, programs and directives, and (5) 

formulate, present, and execute the budget. Of 39 applicants, only the 

eventual selectee and a career FEMA employee, with over 10 years 

experience at FEMA as an Emergency Management Specialist, were 

certified as eligible for consideration. Both candidates were rated as best 

qualified for the position. The agency referred both the career employee 

and the eventual selectee to the selecting official on separate certificates. 

On March 3, 2003, the selecting official, who was also the eventual 

selectee’s supervisor at the time, chose her for the position. The selecting 

official did not provide further justification for the hiring decision.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 61 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Conclusions: Although agencies have discretion when hiring among a limited pool of 

eligible candidates, the agency selected a Schedule C appointee with 

limited experience over a career employee with over 10 years of relevant 

emergency management experience. It is unclear why the two candidates 

received the same rating in the consideration process. 

OPM’s Role: Since this conversion did not occur in the presidential election review 

period, it was not subject to OPM pre-appointment review. 
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 62 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 12: Department of Homeland Security 

Positions: From SES Noncareer Appointment ES-0301-00/00, Deputy Assistant 

Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Immediate Office of the Secretary

To Excepted Service Schedule A GS-0301-15/10, International Programs 

Coordinator, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of 

Investigations

Issues: Creating career positions specifically for particular individuals 

Details: Prior to the appointment to the career excepted service position, the 

eventual selectee served for less than 1 year in a variety of work details as a 

Noncareer SES appointment at DHS. According to the eventual selectee’s 

resume, in these positions she advised high-ranking agency officials on 

relevant policy issues, guided department-wide efforts to develop and 

implement policy initiatives, coordinated public outreach, and handled 

managerial and administrative duties.

On March 26, 2004, the agency submitted an official personnel action 

request to convert the selectee by name to the position of International 

Programs Coordinator. Four days later, on March 30, a position description 

was authorized for an International Programs Coordinator, with duties to 

include advising and assisting the Office of International Affairs in the 

administration of international policy and planning in Greater Europe. The 

conversion was made the same day. The agency did not advertise the 

opening, and there is no evidence suggesting any other candidates were 

considered for the position.

Conclusions: Based on the documents provided to us, two factors create the appearance 

that the individual may have been pre-selected for this position. These 

factors include: (1) the agency’s request to convert the selectee by name 

prior to authorizing the position description and (2) not providing an 

opportunity for other candidates to apply. By law, agencies may not grant 

unauthorized preference to any particular individual or applicant to 

improve her prospects in the employment process. 

OPM’s Role: This conversion was not subject to pre-appointment review because OPM 

does not review appointments to the excepted service during the 

presidential election review period. 
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 63 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 13: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Positions: From Schedule C GS-0301-13/04, Special Assistant, Office of General 

Counsel 

To Excepted Service Schedule A GS-0905-13/04, Attorney-Advisor, Office of 

General Counsel

Issue: Selection of former noncareer appointees who appear to have limited 

qualifications and experience to career positions

Details: Prior to appointment to the career excepted service (non-Schedule C) 

position, the eventual selectee served for almost 4 years as a Schedule C 

Special Assistant in the Office of Insured Housing-Multifamily Mortgage 

Division in the Office of General Counsel. Based on the eventual selectee’s 

resume, duties in that Special Assistant position included providing legal 

counsel, interpreting existing and proposed multi-family insurance 

program statutes, regulations, and other legal documents. 

Beginning on September 9, 2004, the agency advertised the career position 

at the GS-12, 13, and 14 levels for 2 weeks. The eventual selectee and one 

field office attorney applied for the position. The field office attorney had 

over 26 years of experience in the agency, including several years as a 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) officer in a field office. The eventual 

selectee identified handling of FOIA requests as one element of his 

experience on his application; however, his accompanying resume had no 

mention of FOIA experience. Based on agency excepted service hiring 

protocols, both candidates were considered qualified for the position and 

were referred to the selecting official. No interviews were conducted prior 

to the selection. The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Resource 

Management stated that the eventual selectee qualified at the GS-13 level 

and the field office attorney qualified at the GS-14 level. They were referred 

to the selecting official separately on a GS-13 selection roster and GS-14 

selection roster respectively.

Conclusions: Although this conversion was compliant with the agency’s excepted service 

hiring procedures, our work raised questions concerning the selection. 

With the written applications as the primary source of information 

considered, the agency selected a Schedule C appointee with minimal 

experience in FOIA issues, a key requirement of the position, over an 
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 64 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

attorney with 26 years of legal experience at the agency, including several 

years as a FOIA officer. 

OPM’s Role: This conversion was not subject to pre-appointment review because OPM 

does not review appointments to the excepted service during its 

presidential election review period.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 65 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 14: Department of Justice (DOJ)

Positions: From Schedule C GS-0905-15/04, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Attorney 

General, Tax Division

To Excepted Service Schedule A IJ-0905-00/02, Immigration Judge, 

Executive Office For Immigration Review

Issue: Selection of former noncareer appointees who appear to have limited 

qualifications and experience to career positions

Details: Prior to his appointment to the career excepted service (non-Schedule C) 

position, the eventual selectee served for almost 2 years as a Schedule C 

Senior Advisor to the Assistant Attorney General in the Tax Division. 

According to his resume, the eventual selectee’s experience included (1) 

providing written and oral legal counsel concerning ongoing tax litigation 

as a Senior Advisor to the Assistant Attorney General; (2) serving for 

approximately 6 months in a temporary detail as an appellate attorney in 

the Office of Immigration Litigation, and (3) over 25 years of experience as 

a civil trial attorney in a private firm. His resume does not list any 

experience in immigration litigation other than the approximately 6-month 

detail in the Office of Immigration Litigation.

According to the Immigration Judge’s position description, the eventual 

selectee would preside at quasi-judicial hearings to determine the issues 

arising in exclusion, deportation, and related proceedings. The special 

knowledge and abilities required for this position include, among others: “a 

thorough knowledge of the numerous immigration and nationality laws, 

both past and present, and the regulations and rules of the Immigration 

Naturalization Service issued thereunder,” “expert knowledge of judicial 

practice,” and “a proven ability to assure a fair hearing.” On April 4, 2004, 

the agency appointed the selectee to the Immigration Judge position. In an 

internal memo requesting a higher pay rate for the appointment, a DOJ 

Chief Immigration Judge stated that the selectee was eminently wellqualified for the position, but did not cite any immigration litigation 

experience beyond the selectee’s temporary detail as justification for this 

assessment. 

Conclusions: Converting a Schedule C appointee with less than 6 months of immigration 

law experience to an Immigration Judge position raises questions about the 

fairness of the conversion. 
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 66 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

OPM’s Role: This conversion was not subject to pre-appointment review because OPM 

does not include excepted service positions in its review of appointments 

made during the presidential election review period.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 67 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 15: Department of Justice

Positions: From Schedule C Appointment GS-1035-15/01, Deputy Director, Office of 

Public Affairs, Office of Public Affairs

To Excepted Service Appointment, Title 28 U.S.C. 536, GS-1035-15/02, 

Public Affairs Specialist, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Issue: Failure to apply veteran’s preference 

Details: Prior to appointment to the career excepted service (non-Schedule C) 

position, from February 2001 until December 2002, the eventual selectee 

served as a Schedule C Deputy Director in the Office of Public Affairs. 

According to her application for the FBI position, her duties as Deputy 

Director included, among others, serving as a spokesperson for the 

department and Attorney General and preparing the Attorney General and 

other senior officials for press conferences.

According to the position description, the Public Affairs Specialist for the 

FBI would serve as a liaison between the media and senior agency officials, 

as well as a public relations advisor to the agency. DOJ created the position 

on December 6, 2002. The selectee was appointed 3 days later. DOJ did not 

advertise the opening, and there is no evidence suggesting any other 

candidates were considered for the position. As part of the excepted 

service, the FBI is required to apply veteran’s preference to its

appointments.

Conclusions: While this selection was consistent with the FBI’s current Merit Promotion 

and Placement Plan,15 since there was no opportunity for other candidates 

to apply, the agency apparently did not apply the statutory requirements of 

veteran’s preference to this hiring decision.

OPM’s Role: This conversion was not subject to pre-appointment review because OPM 

does not review appointments to the excepted service.

15As mentioned previously, agencies create their own hiring procedures and guidelines for 

excepted service (non-Schedule C) positions. 
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 68 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 16: Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

Positions: From Schedule C Appointment, GS-0301-15/10, Special Assistant, Office of 

the Chairman, Consumer Product Safety Commission

To ES-0340-00/00, Director, Office of International Programs and 

Intergovernmental Affairs, Office of the Executive Director, Consumer 

Product Safety Commission

Issue: Agency did not appear to address OPM qualification concerns about the 

conversions in a substantive manner

Details: Prior to applying for the career position, the eventual selectee had served 

for over a year as a Schedule C Special Assistant in the office of the 

Chairman. According to his resume, as a Special Assistant, the eventual 

selectee directly supported the Chairman by (1) providing senior level 

policy advice on current and developing issues, (2) preparing written 

materials for presentation at external speaking engagements, (3) acting as 

a liaison with internal and external parties, and (4) drafting documents as 

needed.

On November 14, 2003, CPSC posted a vacancy announcement for the SES 

career position of Director, Office of International Programs and 

Intergovernmental Affairs. Based on the vacancy announcement, the 

director would oversee and coordinate the Commission’s international and 

intergovernmental efforts related to product safety standards. The desired 

qualifications listed in the announcement closely matched the eventual 

selectee’s previous experience in the private sector, and as an elected 

official to the New Mexico State Legislature, as listed on his resume.

Twenty-four applicants applied, and of these, nine were considered 

qualified for the position and assigned numerical scores. The eventual 

selectee received the highest numerical score and the selecting official 

selected him for the career position on December 19, 2003.

Because this is an appointment to the career SES, CPSC submitted the 

selectee’s case to OPM for approval on February 13, 2004. An OPM-
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 69 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

administered QRB16 denied the agency’s request citing weakness in three of 

the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ). The QRB also noted that the 

selectee’s lack of managerial experience would be a handicap to successful 

performance in the SES. Based on comments from CPSC’s Executive 

Director, the selectee revised his ECQ statement by citing different 

examples from his experiences. Although the selectee refers to his “career 

as a senior manager and leader” the only concrete examples he provided of 

his experiences in the ECQs relate to his 15-month position at the CPSC or 

his 2-terms as an elected official in the New Mexico State Legislature. 

However, in describing his specific role and duties for each of these 

positions on his resume, he does not mention managerial or supervisory 

duties for either. Using the revised ECQs, CPSC resubmitted its request. 

OPM pointed out that the resubmission was provided to a different QRB, 

which was not involved or familiar with the initial QRB’s concerns or 

decision. This QRB approved the appointment on April 2, 2004.

Conclusions: Although the selectee modified his second submission to OPM, the primary 

basis for the selectee’s qualifications remained his experience from the 

15-month appointment at the CPSC and 2-terms as a State Representative. 

It is unclear whether or how this revised submission addressed the 

concerns raised by the initial QRB regarding the candidate not meeting the 

“demonstrated executive experience” required for SES positions by 5 U.S.C 

3393, or the “well-honed executive skills and broad perspective of 

government” recommended by OPM guidance on the SES. 

OPM’s Role: Because this is an appointment to the career SES, CPSC submitted the 

selectee’s case to OPM for approval. On February 13, 2004, an OPMadministered QRB denied the agency’s request due to weakness in three of 

the five ECQs. After CPSC resubmitted its request, a different QRB 

approved the appointment on April 2, 2004.

16While OPM convenes Qualifications Review Boards and provides staff support, the Boards 

are composed of members of the SES from across the government.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 70 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 17: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Positions: From Schedule C, GS-0301-14/04, Information Management Specialist, 

Office of Administrative Services

To GS-0301-14/04, Management Specialist, Office of Administrative 

Services

Issues: Failure to apply veteran’s preference/creating a career position for a 

particular individual

Details: Prior to applying for the career position, the eventual selectee served for 

over 2 years in a variety of work details initially as a Schedule C appointee, 

then as an administratively determined position in the Immediate Office of 

the EPA Administrator. Before this, the eventual selectee had worked for 3 

years as a Special Assistant for the Administrator when she was Governor 

of New Jersey, and had also worked state level political campaigns. In 

addition to providing administrative support and policy advice to the EPA 

Administrator, she listed the following experiences on her resume from an 

11-month detail to the Facilities Management and Services Division: (1) 

managed the daily operation of Personnel Security Staff, (2) maintained 

working knowledge of Executive Orders and OPM guidelines pertaining to 

national security positions, (3) established and implemented new internal 

processes and policies regarding personnel security, and (4) worked with 

other governmental agencies to facilitate personnel security clearances.

On April 25, 2003, EPA advertised the new career position of Management 

Specialist in the Office of Administration and Resources Management, 2 

weeks prior to the position’s creation. According to the vacancy 

announcement, the individual in this position would (1) serve as an advisor 

to the Director, (2) perform special projects such as planning for the 

review, development and execution of personnel and physical security 

plans and programs, (3) maintain awareness of the major policy and 

program initiatives relevant to Security Staff, and (4) work with other 

federal agencies and the private sector regarding the personnel and 

physical security plans and programs.

Thirty-five individuals applied for the position, including at least seven with 

veteran’s preference. Individuals were assigned scores based on their 

online responses and a computer-based scoring system. By law, agencies 

are required to assign additional points to qualifying veteran’s scores during 
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 71 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

the rating and ranking process.17 Based on the applicant listing EPA 

provided to us, the scores were not adjusted for veteran’s preference. Had 

the veteran‘s preference points been applied, five of the seven individuals 

that had veteran’s preference would have ranked higher than the selectee. 

Even without the points applied, the eventual selectee shared the highest 

score with a 5-point compensable veteran. Despite this tied score, the 

agency referred only the eventual selectee to the selecting official. On May 

18, 2003, the agency converted the selectee to the career position. 

According to EPA, the selectee had eleven months of relevant experience 

for the career position at the time of her selection.

Conclusions: Based on the documents, EPA did not apply veteran’s preference points for 

seven applicants. Other factors also suggest there may have been 

preselection. Although, even in the absence of the added veteran’s 

preference points, two applicants, (a veteran and the eventual selectee), 

shared the same examination score, the agency only referred the selectee 

to the selecting official. Also, the close correlation between the duties 

listed by the selectee for her most recent detail and those of the newly 

created career position may have given the selectee an advantage in the 

rating process. Finally, the position was created and filled immediately 

prior to the former Administrator’s resignation. 

OPM’s Role: This conversion was not subject to OPM’s pre-appointment review because 

it occurred before the presidential election review period.

175 U.S.C. §§ 3309, 3313.
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 72 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Case 18: Small Business Administration (SBA)

Positions: From Schedule C Appointment, GS-0301-13/04, Special Assistant to the 

Administrator, Office of the Administrator

To GS-0301-12/10, Administrative Resources Coordinator, Region IX

Issue: Agency did not appear to address OPM concerns about the conversion in a 

substantive manner

Details: The eventual selectee served as a Schedule C Special Assistant in the Office 

of the Administrator for over 3 years prior to applying for the career 

position. Before this, the eventual selectee had worked in Los Angeles for 

almost 5 years at the private business owned by the Administrator prior to 

his appointment as SBA Administrator. According to her application, as the 

Special Assistant to the Administrator, the eventual selectee managed the 

Administrator’s calendar, coordinated meetings with other officials, 

answered correspondence, and performed special projects of a sensitive 

nature, among other duties.

On August 11, 2004, SBA posted a vacancy announcement for the newly 

created career position of Administrative Resources Coordinator in the Los 

Angeles Regional Office. According to the vacancy announcement, the 

coordinator would (1) interact with senior level officials within the SBA, 

(2) perform special projects for the Regional Administrator, (3) manage 

budget allocations, (4) maintain the Regional Office Executive Scorecard, 

and (5) interact with diverse groups in a variety of settings.

There were six applicants for the position, and of these, three were 

considered eligible. The eventual selectee received the highest rating of all 

the candidates, and the selecting official chose her for the position on 

September 10, 2004. 

Because conversions of Schedule C appointees to career positions during 

OPM’s presidential election review period are subject to OPM preappointment review, the agency submitted this conversion to OPM for 

approval on October 26, 2004. On February 22, 2005, OPM returned the 

agency request without formal action, citing the fact that the period of preappointment review had passed. However, OPM raised concerns to SBA 

that the appointment did not adhere to merit system principles because the 

quality ranking factors in the vacancy announcement and crediting plan did 
Appendix IV

Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures May Not Have Been 

Followed

Page 73 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

not appear to be supported by the position description. In OPM’s view, this 

discrepancy may have limited the applicant pool and interfered with open 

and fair competition. OPM encouraged SBA to review the hiring process 

and ensure it met merit system principles before appointing the selectee to 

the position. On February 25, 2005, the Director of SBA’s Denver Office of 

Human Capital Management advised the Chief Human Capital Officer that 

he had reviewed the recruitment file and the appointment of the selectee 

met merit system principles because it was made from a legally constituted 

certificate of eligibles. Based on this review, the agency appointed the 

selectee to the Administrative Resources Coordinator position on March 6, 

2005. The Chief Human Capital Officer at SBA told us that SBA was in the 

process of moving one of its regional offices from San Francisco to Los 

Angeles, and that this position was created as part of the standard 

configuration for a regional office. 

Conclusions: As OPM suggested, several factors raise questions about the fairness of this 

conversion. At the time of selection, the selectee had been working for the 

SBA Administrator, both in the private sector and at SBA, for about 8 years. 

Additionally, the position, which was established less than 6 months before 

the 2004 election was located in the eventual selectee’s hometown. SBA did 

respond to OPM’s observation, but it is not clear from the documents

whether SBA adequately addressed OPM’s concerns, and there was no 

documentation in the file indicating OPM contacted the SBA further 

concerning this appointment or the agency’s response.

OPM’s Role: Because the agency selected a Schedule C appointee for a career position 

during the presidential election review period, it submitted the conversion 

to OPM for approval in October 26, 2004. On February 22, 2005, OPM 

returned the agency request without action citing the fact that the period of 

pre-appointment review had passed but expressed concern with the merit 

staffing process.
Page 74 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Appendix V

Conversions Where It Could Not Be 

Determined Whether Appropriate Authorities 

and Proper Procedures Were Followed Appendix V

 Noncareer position, title, and office Position title, office, and hiring authority Date converted

Department of Health and Human Services

Limited Term SES

Chief Information Officer

Office of Budget, Technology, and 

 Finance

Chief Information Officer

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

 Planning and Evaluation

Reg. 317.304

04/20/03

Limited Term SES

Special Advisor Information Technology

Food and Drug Administration

Chief Information Officer

Food and Drug Administration

5 U.S.C. 3393

12/29/02

Schedule C

Secretary Regional Representative

Office of the Regional Director

Regional Administrator

Administration of Aging

HHS-PSC-1-05-0002

01/23/05

Department of Justice

Presidential Appointee

U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s Office

Eastern District of Missouri

Assistant U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s Office 

 Eastern District of Missouri

28 U.S.C. 542

05/01/01

Schedule C

Special Assistant to the Assistant 

 Attorney General

Civil Rights Division

Attorney Advisor

Office of Legal Counsel

Schedule A 213.3102D

09/17/01

Schedule C

Attorney Advisor

Civil Division

Trial Attorney

Civil Rights Division

Schedule A 213.3102D

11/02/03

Limited Term SES

Counselor to the Assistant Attorney 

 General

Criminal Division

Trial Attorney (General)

Office of the Solicitor General

Schedule A 213.3102D

04/07/02

Schedule C

Attorney Advisor

Office of the Assistant Attorney General

Assistant U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s Office 

 Eastern Virginia

28 U.S.C. 542

09/08/02

Schedule C

Attorney Advisor

Executive Office for United States 

 Attorneys

Assistant U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s Office 

 Western Washington 

28 U.S.C. 542

06/29/03

Schedule C

Special Assistant to the Attorney 

 General

Criminal Division

Assistant U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s Office

 Eastern New York

28 U.S.C. 542

06/15/03

Schedule C

Special Assistant to the Assistant 

 Attorney General

Criminal Division

Assistant U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s Office 

 Eastern Virginia

28 U.S.C. 542

06/01/03
Appendix V

Conversions Where It Could Not Be 

Determined Whether Appropriate 

Authorities and Proper Procedures Were 

Followed

Page 75 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Source: GAO.

Schedule C

Counsel to the Assistant Attorney 

 General

Civil Rights Division

Trial Attorney

Civil Rights Division

28 U.S.C. 542

03/09/03

Noncareer SES

Chief of Staff

Criminal Division

Assistant U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s Office 

 Western North Carolina

28 U.S.C. 542

01/12/03

Noncareer SES

Counselor to the Assistant Attorney

 General

Civil Rights Division

Trial Attorney

Civil Rights Division

Schedule A 213.3102D

11/02/03

Schedule C

Attorney Advisor

Executive Office for United States 

 Attorneys

Assistant U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney’s Office 

 Massachusetts

28 U.S.C. 542

08/08/04

Noncareer SES

Deputy General Counsel for 

 Postsecondary and Regulatory Service

Office of the General Counsel

Department of Education

Assistant U.S. Attorney (Criminal)

United States Attorney’s Office 

 Western North Carolina

Schedule A 213.3102D

02/06/05

3 U.S.C 105

Associate Director

Domestic Policy Council

The White House

Immigration Judge

Executive Office for Immigration 

 Review

Schedule A 213.3102D

03/20/05

Schedule C

Special Assistant to the Assistant 

 Attorney General 

Criminal Division

Trial Attorney 

Criminal Division

Schedule A 213.3102D

12/28/03

Schedule C

Counsel to the Director

Executive Office for United States 

 Attorneys

Trial Attorney

Tax Division

Schedule A 213.3102D

05/30/04

(Continued From Previous Page)

 Noncareer position, title, and office Position title, office, and hiring authority Date converted
Page 76 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Appendix VI

Comments from Office of Personnel 

Management Appendix VI
Page 77 GAO-06-381 Noncareer to Career Conversions

Appendix VII

GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments Appendix VI

GAO Contact George H. Stalcup (202)-512-6806 or stalcupg@gao.gov

Acknowledgment In addition to the contact named above, Sarah Veale, Assistant Director; 

Carolyn L. Samuels, Lisa Van Arsdale, and Jeffrey McDermott made key 

contributions to this report.

(450424)
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