U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

69–010 

" ! SENATE 110TH CONGRESS

2d Session 

REPORT

2008

110–466 

Calendar No. 971 

TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF 

THE CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER OF 

THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BY THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON 

HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 2816 

TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF THE CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BY THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008.—Ordered to be printed 


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(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman 

CARL LEVIN, Michigan 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

BARACK OBAMA, Illinois 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

JON TESTER, Montana 

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine 

TED STEVENS, Alaska 

GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio 

NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico 

JOHN WARNER, Virginia 

JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire 

MICHAEL L. ALEXANDER, Staff Director 

KEVIN J. LANDY, Chief Counsel 

KENYA N. WILEY, Counsel 

THOMAS J.R. RICHARDS, Professional Staff Member, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government 

Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia 

BRANDON L. MILHORN, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

AMANDA WOOD, Minority Director of Governmental Affairs 

JENNIFER A. HEMINGWAY, Minority Staff Director, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government 

Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia 

TARA L. SHAW, Minority Counsel, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, 

the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia 

TRINA DRIESSNACK TYRER, Chief Clerk 


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Calendar No. 971 

110TH CONGRESS SENATE REPORT " ! 2d Session 110–466 

TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF THE CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BY THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. LIEBERMAN, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 2816] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (S. 2816) to provide for the appointment of the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of 

Homeland Security by the Secretary of Homeland Security, having 

considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment 

and recommends that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose and Summary .................................................................................. 1 

II. Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................... 1 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 3 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis .......................................................................... 4 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 4 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ................................................ 4 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ........................... 5 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

The purpose of S. 2816 is to provide for the appointment or designation of the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by the Secretary of Homeland 

Security, so the DHS CHCO would be selected in the same manner 

as all other department and agency CHCOs. 

II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

The federal government’s human capital management became a 

concern when the Government Accountability Office (GAO) included federal workforce management on its 2001 high-risk list: 


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1GAO, High Risk Series: An Update, GAO–01–263, January 1, 2001, pp. 8–9. 2 Id. p. 18. 3Section 1302 of Public Law 107–296 (Nov. 25, 2002) (5 U.S.C. Secs. 1401–1402); 148 Cong. 

Rec. S11182 (November 15, 2002) (statement of Senator Voinovich). 4 5 U.S.C. Sec. 1401; 31 U.S.C. Sec. 901(b). 

5 Id. 6Section 1303 of Public Law 107–296 (Nov. 25, 2002) (5 U.S.C. Sec. 1401 note). 

7 Id. 8 6 U.S.C. Sec. 112–113. 

9 6 U.S.C. Sec. 113(d)(3). 

10 5 U.S.C. Sec. 1401. 11Susan Marshall, Office of Personnel Management Director, Congressional Relations, email 

to Tara Shaw, September 8, 2008. 

The government’s approach to managing its people—its human 

capital—is the critical missing link in reforming and modernizing 

the federal government’s management practices. Many agencies are 

experiencing serious human capital challenges, such as skills imbalances, succession planning challenges, outdated performance 

management systems, and understaffing. The combined effect of 

these challenges serves to place at risk the ability of agencies to 

efficiently, economically, and effectively accomplish their missions, 

manage critical programs, and adequately serve the American people both now and in the future. To a significant extent, serious 

management challenges across a wide range of federal agencies, 

covering programs that involve billions of federal expenditures, can 

be attributed to shortcomings in how agencies manage their human 

capital.1

In that report, the GAO identified leadership continuity as one 

of the human capital management challenges across the federal 

government.2

The Chief Human Capital Officers Act of 2002 was enacted as 

part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to address the human 

capital problems identified by the GAO and help the federal government properly manage its workforce.3 To provide for the leadership continuity called for by the GAO, the Chief Human Capital Officers Act created CHCOs at the federal government’s 24 largest 

departments and agencies to assist the heads of agencies in selecting, developing, training, and managing a high-quality, productive 

workforce and to implement the laws, rules and regulations governing civil service within agencies.4 The head of each of those departments and agencies was given the authority to appoint or designate its agency’s CHCO.5 The Act also established an interagency 

CHCO Council to advise and coordinate the personnel functions of 

each agency.6 The legislation required that the Council be chaired 

by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the 

Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and 

Budget.7

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 also provided for the Presidential appointment of a Secretary of Homeland Security and other 

DHS officers.8 Among the officers required to be appointed by the 

President is the DHS CHCO.9 The requirement that the President 

appoint the DHS CHCO is unique, for each head of the other federal agencies has the authority to appoint or designate its agency’s 

CHCO.10 Agency heads have varied in appointing CHCOs who are 

political appointees as well as career employees; in June of 2008, 

11 agencies represented on the CHCO Council had career employees filling the position.11


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12 5 U.S.C. Sec. 1401; 31 U.S.C. Sec. 901(b). 13GAO, High Risk Series: An Update, GAO–01–263, p. 18–19, January 1, 2001; GAO, Organizational Transformation: Implementing Chief Operating Officer/Chief Management Officer Positions in Federal Agencies, GAO–08–322T, p. 8, December 13, 2007. 14 Jeffrey T. Readinger, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Director, Office of Legislative 

Affairs, e-mail to Tara Shaw, July 1, 2008. 15 Id. 16Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Hearing To Consider the 

Nomination of: Paul A. Schneider to be Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, May 14, 2008. 

S. 2816 would align the statutory appointment authority relating 

to the DHS CHCO with the appointment authority relating to 

other agency CHCOs by providing the Secretary of Homeland Security with the authority to appoint or designate the DHS CHCO.12

As noted by the GAO, sustained leadership is necessary to help 

agencies address their human capital needs, and the Committee believes that a long-term, stable CHCO is needed to help select, train, 

and manage the workforce at DHS, where approximately 180,000 

employees were combined into a new entity less than six years 

ago.13 However, there have been seven CHCOs at DHS over the 

past five years.14 Three of those CHCOs were Acting CHCOs who 

served as CHCO an average of two and one-half months.15 This 

turnover highlights the need for the Secretary of Homeland Security to have the authority and flexibility to designate a career DHS 

CHCO who can remain at DHS beyond the end of any given Presidential administration. In the May 14, 2008, Homeland Security 

and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing to consider the nomination of Paul A. Schneider to be Deputy Secretary of DHS, Mr. 

Schneider also expressed support for allowing the Secretary of 

Homeland Security to appoint or designate the DHS CHCO: 

Being the chief human capital officer at the Department of 

Homeland Security is probably one of the toughest human resources or human capital positions in the federal government. The 

fact that by law it’s a political appointee means that, for the most 

part, that person will leave on January 20th. You have no idea how 

difficult it was for us to recruit the gentleman that the president 

just announced to be the chief human capital officer for what turns 

out to be the remaining seven months of the administration. And 

the fact of the matter is one of the biggest challenges we have in 

this department is human capital . . . The challenges that we have 

in hiring, in professional development, are probably unique in the 

federal government. Having a career civil servant [as CHCO], especially, frankly, at this point in time, where somebody could carry 

over to the next administration, would be absolutely essential, I 

think, to improve the management operations of the department, 

especially in this very critical area.16

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 2816 was introduced by Senator Voinovich on April 3, 2008. 

The bill was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. S. 2816 was co-sponsored 

by Senator Akaka and Senator Domenici. 

On June 25, 2008, the Committee considered S. 2816. The Committee ordered the bill favorably reported without amendment by 

voice vote. Members present were Lieberman, Akaka, Carper, 

Pryor, McCaskill, Collins, Coleman, Coburn, and Sununu. 


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IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Appointment of the Chief Human Capital Officer by the 

Secretary of Homeland Security 

This section amends section 103(d) of the Homeland Security Act 

of 2002 by striking paragraph (3) of that subsection, which provides 

for the appointment of the DHS CHCO by the President, and renumbering the remaining paragraphs. 

V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to the requirement of paragraph 11(b)(1) of rule XXVI 

of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has considered 

the regulatory impact of this bill. The Congressional Budget Office 

(CBO) states that there are no intergovernmental or private-sector 

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and no 

costs on State, local, or tribal governments. The legislation contains 

no other regulatory impact. 

VI. ESTIMATED COST OF LEGISLATION

JUNE 27, 2008. 

Hon. JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, 

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2816, a bill to provide for 

the appointment of the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security by the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Grabowicz. 

Sincerely, 

PETER R. ORSZAG, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

S. 2816—A bill to provide for the appointment of the Chief Human 

Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security by the 

Secretary of Homeland Security 

Under current law, the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security is appointed by the President. S. 

2816 would remove this Presidential authority, thus enabling the 

Secretary of Homeland Security to appoint a person to this position. CBO estimates that implementing S. 2816 would have no significant costs to the federal government. Enacting the bill would 

not affect direct spending or revenues. 

S. 2816 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. This 

estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 


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VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the following changes in existing law made by 

the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law proposed 

to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed 

in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

UNITED STATES CODE 

TITLE 6. DOMESTIC SECURITY 

CHAPTER 1. HOMELAND SECURITY ORGANIZATION 

SUBCHAPTER I. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

SEC. 113. OTHER OFFICERS. 

* * * * * * * 

(d) OTHER OFFICERS.— To assist the Secretary in the performance of the Secretary’s functions, there are the following officers, 

appointed by the President: 

(1) A Director of the Secret Service. 

(2) A Chief Information Officer. 

ø(3) A Chief Human Capital Officer.¿ 

ø(4)¿ (3) An Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. 

ø(5)¿ (4) A Director for Domestic Nuclear Detection. 

Æ 


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