118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 59 

AN ACT 

To implement merit-based reforms to the civil service hiring 

system that replace degree-based hiring with skills- and 

competency-based hiring. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chance to Compete 

3 Act of 2024’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 (a) AMENDATORY DEFINITIONS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3304 of title 5, 

7 United States Code, is amended— 

8 (A) by redesignating subsections (b) 

9 through (g) as subsections (h) through (m), re10 spectively; 

11 (B) by redesignating subsection (a) as sub12 section (b); and 

13 (C) by inserting before subsection (b), as 

14 so redesignated, the following: 

15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ means an 

17 Executive agency. 

18 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

19 the Director of the Office. 

20 ‘‘(3) EXAMINATION.—The term ‘examination’ 

21 means the process by which an applicant dem22 onstrates knowledge, skills, abilities, and com23 petencies. 

24 ‘‘(4) EXAMINING AGENCY.—The term ‘exam25 ining agency’ means— 

26 ‘‘(A) the Office; or 
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1 ‘‘(B) an agency to which the Director has 

2 delegated examining authority under section 

3 1104(a)(2). 

4 ‘‘(5) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Of5 fice of Personnel Management. 

6 ‘‘(6) PASSING SCORE.—The term ‘passing 

7 score’ means a minimum acceptable score or rating, 

8 consistent with applicable law, that may include a 

9 quantitative or qualitative assessment that an appli10 cant can pass or fail. 

11 ‘‘(7) RELEVANT COMMITTEES.—The term ‘rel12 evant committees’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

14 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Oversight and Ac16 countability of the House of Representatives. 

17 ‘‘(8) SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT.—The term 

18 ‘subject matter expert’ means an employee or select19 ing official— 

20 ‘‘(A) who possesses an understanding of 

21 the duties of, and knowledge, skills, and abili22 ties required for, the position for which the em23 ployee or selecting official is developing or ad24 ministering an examination; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) whom the delegated examining unit 

2 of the examining agency that employs the em3 ployee or selecting official designates to assist 

4 in the development and administration of tech5 nical assessments. 

6 ‘‘(9) TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT.—The term 

7 ‘technical assessment’ means a position-specific tool 

8 that is relevant to the position for which the tool is 

9 developed that— 

10 ‘‘(A) allows for the demonstration of job11 related skills, abilities, knowledge, and com12 petencies; 

13 ‘‘(B) is based upon a job analysis; and 

14 ‘‘(C) does not solely include or principally 

15 rely upon a self-assessment from an automated 

16 examination.’’. 

17 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND18 MENTS.— 

19 (A) TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE.—Part 

20 III of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

21 (i) in chapter 33— 

22 (I) in section 3302(2), by strik23 ing ‘‘3304(a)’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘3304(b)’’; and 
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1 (II) in section 3330a(a)(1)(B), 

2 by striking ‘‘3304(f)(1)’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘3304(l)(1)’’; and 

4 (ii) in section 9810(b), by striking 

5 ‘‘3304(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘3304(h)’’. 

6 (B) ACT TO ESTABLISH A COMMISSION ON

7 SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE.— 

8 Section 8(d)(2) of the Act entitled, ‘‘An Act to 

9 establish a Commission on Security and Co10 operation in Europe’’, approved June 3, 1976 

11 (22 U.S.C. 3008(d)(2)) is amended by striking 

12 ‘‘3304(c)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘3304(i)(1)’’. 

13 (C) U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS ACT OF

14 2000.—Section 308(e)(2) of the U.S.-China Re15 lations Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 6918(e)(2)) is 

16 amended by striking ‘‘3304(c)(1)’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘3304(i)(1)’’. 

18 (D) ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND SECU19 RITY ACT OF 2007.—Section 136(i)(1) of the 

20 Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 

21 (42 U.S.C. 17013(i)(1)) is amended by striking 

22 ‘‘3304(a)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘3304(b)(3)’’. 

23 (E) SUBSECTION HEADINGS.—Section 

24 3304 of title 5, United States Code, as amend-
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1 ed by paragraph (1) of this subsection, is 

2 amended— 

3 (i) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘The 

4 President’’ and inserting ‘‘RULES.—The 

5 President’’; 

6 (ii) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘An 

7 individual’’ and inserting ‘‘EXAMINATION

8 OR EXCEPTION REQUIRED.—An indi9 vidual’’; 

10 (iii) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘(1) 

11 For the purpose’’ and inserting ‘‘TECHNI12 CIANS.—(1) For the purpose’’; 

13 (iv) in subsection (j), by striking ‘‘The 

14 Office’’ and inserting ‘‘CONSIDERATION OF

15 EXPERIENCE.—The office’’; 

16 (v) in subsection (k), by striking 

17 ‘‘Employees’’ and inserting ‘‘USE OF PUB18 LIC BUILDINGS.—Employees’’; and 

19 (vi) in subsection (l), by striking ‘‘(1) 

20 Preference eligibles or veterans’’ and in21 serting ‘‘PREFERENCE ELIGIBLES AND

22 VETERANS.—(1) Preference eligibles or 

23 veterans’’. 

24 (b) FREESTANDING DEFINITIONS.—In this Act— 
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1 (1) each term that is defined in section 3304(a) 

2 of title 5, United States Code, as added by sub3 section (a) of this section, shall have the meaning 

4 given the term in such section 3304(a); and 

5 (2) the term ‘‘competitive service’’ has the 

6 meaning given the term in section 2102 of title 5, 

7 United States Code. 

8 SEC. 3. MODERNIZING FEDERAL HIRING. 

9 Section 3304 of title 5, United States Code, is 

10 amended by inserting after subsection (b), as redesignated 

11 by section 2, the following: 

12 ‘‘(c) EXAMINATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of testing 

14 applicants for appointment for a position, or class of 

15 positions, in the competitive service, an examining 

16 agency shall conduct an examination pursuant to 

17 subsection (b). 

18 ‘‘(2) INTERIM EXAMINATION PERIOD.— 

19 ‘‘(A) PREFERENCE FOR TECHNICAL AS20 SESSMENT.—During the 3-year period begin21 ning on the date of enactment of the Chance to 

22 Compete Act of 2024, an examining agency 

23 shall preference the use of a technical assess24 ment, to the maximum extent practicable, to as25 sess the job-related skills, abilities, knowledge, 
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1 and competencies of an applicant for a position 

2 in the competitive service. 

3 ‘‘(B) USE OF ALTERNATIVE ASSESS4 MENT.—During the 3-year period beginning on 

5 the date of enactment of the Chance to Com6 pete Act of 2024, if an examining agency deter7 mines that the use of a technical assessment to 

8 assess the job-related skills, abilities, knowl9 edge, and competencies of an applicant for a 

10 position in the competitive service is not prac11 ticable, the examining agency may use an alter12 native assessment for that purpose if the exam13 ining agency includes a brief description of the 

14 rationale for the use of the alternative assess15 ment in the job posting. 

16 ‘‘(3) TRANSITION PLANNING.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later 18 months 

18 after the date of enactment of the Chance to 

19 Compete Act of 2024, the Director shall submit 

20 to the relevant committees a plan to transition 

21 Federal hiring practices to adopt technical as22 sessments in accordance with subsection (d), 

23 which shall include— 

24 ‘‘(i) the prioritization of— 

25 ‘‘(I) job classifications; and 
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1 ‘‘(II) resource requirements; and 

2 ‘‘(ii) a timeline for full implementa3 tion of the transition. 

4 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION.—In de5 veloping the plan under subparagraph (A), the 

6 Director shall consult with, at minimum— 

7 ‘‘(i) the Director of the Office of Man8 agement and Budget; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the Chair of the Chief Human 

10 Capital Officers Council; 

11 ‘‘(iii) employee representatives; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) relevant external stakeholders. 

13 ‘‘(4) IMPLEMENTATION OF TECHNICAL ASSESS14 MENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN.—Not 

16 later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

17 of the Chance to Compete Act of 2024, the Di18 rector shall implement the plan submitted 

19 under paragraph (3). 

20 ‘‘(B) ADOPTION OF TECHNICAL ASSESS21 MENTS.—On and after the date that is 3 years 

22 after the date of enactment of the Chance to 

23 Compete Act of 2024, an examining agency 

24 shall use a technical assessment to examine ap-
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1 plicants for positions in the competitive service 

2 in accordance with subsection (d). 

3 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The requirement 

5 under subparagraph (B) shall not apply to 

6 an examining agency with respect to a par7 ticular job series if— 

8 ‘‘(I) the examining agency deter9 mines that use of a technical assess10 ment is impracticable for the job se11 ries; and 

12 ‘‘(II) the head of the examining 

13 agency submits to the Director and 

14 the relevant committees a certification 

15 that use of the technical assessment is 

16 impracticable, which certification shall 

17 include— 

18 ‘‘(aa) identification of the 

19 job series; 

20 ‘‘(bb) identification of the 

21 number of positions that are in22 cluded in the job series within 

23 the agency for which the exam24 ining agency is conducting exami25 nations; and 
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1 ‘‘(cc) a description of the ra2 tionale for the determination. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EFFECTIVENESS OF WAIVER.—A 

4 waiver under this subparagraph shall be 

5 effective for the period— 

6 ‘‘(I) beginning on the date that is 

7 1 day after the date on which the ap8 plicable certification is submitted 

9 under clause (i)(II); and 

10 ‘‘(II) ending on the date that is 

11 3 years after the date on which the 

12 applicable certification is submitted 

13 under clause (i)(II). 

14 ‘‘(iii) NO DELEGATION OF CERTIFI15 CATION AUTHORITY.—The head of an ex16 amining agency may not delegate the au17 thority to submit a certification under 

18 clause (i)(II). 

19 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of con21 ducting an examination for a position in the com22 petitive service, an individual who is determined by 

23 an examining agency to be a subject matter expert 

24 in the subject and job field of the position may— 
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1 ‘‘(A) develop, in partnership with human 

2 resources employees of the examining agency, a 

3 position-specific assessment that is relevant to 

4 the position, based on job analysis, which may 

5 include— 

6 ‘‘(i) a structured interview; 

7 ‘‘(ii) a work-related exercise; 

8 ‘‘(iii) a custom or generic procedure 

9 used to measure an applicant’s employ10 ment or career-related qualifications and 

11 interests; or 

12 ‘‘(iv) another assessment that— 

13 ‘‘(I) allows for the demonstration 

14 of job-related technical skills, abilities, 

15 and knowledge; and 

16 ‘‘(II) is relevant to the position 

17 for which the assessment is developed; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(B) administer the assessment developed 

20 under subparagraph (A) to— 

21 ‘‘(i) determine whether an applicant 

22 for the position has a passing score to be 

23 qualified for the position; or 
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1 ‘‘(ii) rank applicants for the position 

2 for category rating purposes under section 

3 3319. 

4 ‘‘(2) FEASIBILITY STUDY ON SHARING AND

5 CUSTOMIZATION OF ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 1 

6 year after the date of enactment of the Chance to 

7 Compete Act of 2024, the Director shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) conduct a feasibility study that exam9 ines the practicability, including a cost benefit 

10 analysis, of— 

11 ‘‘(i) the sharing of technical assess12 ments by an examining agency with an13 other examining agency; 

14 ‘‘(ii) mechanisms for each examining 

15 agency to maintain appropriate control 

16 over examination material that is shared 

17 by the examining agency as described in 

18 clause (i); 

19 ‘‘(iii) limits on customization of a 

20 technical assessment that is shared as de21 scribed in clause (i) and mechanisms to en22 sure that the resulting technical assess23 ment satisfies the requirements under part 

24 300 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations 

25 (or any successor regulation); and 
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1 ‘‘(iv) the development of an online 

2 platform on which examining agencies can 

3 share and customize technical assessments 

4 as described in this subparagraph; and 

5 ‘‘(B) submit to the relevant committees a 

6 report on the study conducted under subpara7 graph (A). 

8 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL AGENCY TALENT TEAMS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An agency may establish 1 

10 or more agency talent teams, including at the com11 ponent level. 

12 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—An agency talent team shall 

13 provide hiring support to the agency, including by— 

14 ‘‘(A) improving examinations; 

15 ‘‘(B) facilitating the writing of job an16 nouncements for the competitive service; 

17 ‘‘(C) sharing high-quality certificates of eli18 gible applicants; and 

19 ‘‘(D) facilitating hiring for the competitive 

20 service using examinations. 

21 ‘‘(f) OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT TALENT

22 TEAM.—The Director may establish a Federal talent team 

23 to support agency talent teams by— 

24 ‘‘(1) facilitating hiring actions across the Fed25 eral Government; 
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1 ‘‘(2) providing training; 

2 ‘‘(3) creating tools and guides to facilitate hir3 ing for the competitive service; and 

4 ‘‘(4) developing technical assessments. 

5 ‘‘(g) RULEMAKING.—The Director shall promulgate 

6 such regulations as are necessary to implement and inter7 pret this section.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. COMPETITIVE SERVICE CANDIDATE HIRING AND 

9 REFORM. 

10 (a) REVIEW.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall conduct a 

12 review of examinations for hiring for each position 

13 in the competitive service that an examining agency 

14 has determined requires a minimum educational re15 quirement because the position is of a scientific, 

16 technical, or professional nature pursuant to section 

17 3308 of title 5, United States Code, to determine 

18 whether data, evidence, or other information justifies 

19 the need for educational requirements for the posi20 tion. 

21 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out para22 graph (1), the Director shall consult with, at min23 imum— 

24 (A) agencies, as deemed appropriate by the 

25 Director; 
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1 (B) employee representatives; 

2 (C) external experts; and 

3 (D) relevant stakeholders. 

4 (b) REPORT ON HIRING PRACTICES.—Not later than 

5 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

6 shall submit to the relevant committees recommendations 

7 to amend the hiring practices of examining agencies in ac8 cordance with the findings of the review conducted under 

9 subsection (a)(1). 

10 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 

11 (a) IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, and each year 

14 thereafter ending with the fifth publication and sub15 mission of the report, the Director shall publish on 

16 a public-facing website, and submit to the relevant 

17 committees, a report that— 

18 (A) examines the progress of examining 

19 agencies in implementing the requirements of 

20 this Act and the amendments made by this Act; 

21 and 

22 (B) identifies any significant difficulties 

23 encountered in the implementation described in 

24 subparagraph (A). 
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1 (2) INCLUSION IN ANNUAL REPORT.—The Di2 rector may include the report required under para3 graph (1) as an addendum to the report required 

4 under subsection (b). 

5 (3) DELAYED REPORTING.—If the Director is 

6 unable to publish and submit the report within the 

7 timeline required under paragraph (1), the Director 

8 shall publish on a public-facing website, and submit 

9 to the relevant committees, a notification of the 

10 delay that— 

11 (A) provides a reason for the delay; and 

12 (B) advises the public and the relevant 

13 committees of the anticipated date of publica14 tion and submission of the report. 

15 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, and each year 

18 thereafter, the Director shall publish on a public-fac19 ing website and submit to the relevant committees a 

20 report that, with respect to categories of positions in 

21 the competitive service for which an examining agen22 cy examined applicants during the applicable period, 

23 includes— 

24 (A) the type of examination used; and 
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1 (B) summary data from examinations that 

2 are closed, audited, and anonymous on the use 

3 of examinations for the competitive service, in4 cluding technical assessments. 

5 (2) DEMOGRAPHIC INDICATORS.—In carrying 

6 out paragraph (1), the Director shall break the data 

7 down by applicant demographic indicators to facili8 tate direct comparability and trendline comparisons 

9 to data available as of October 1, 2020, as a base10 line. 

11 (3) LIMITATIONS.—In carrying out this sub12 section, the Director may only publish and submit to 

13 the relevant committees data relating to examina14 tions for which— 

15 (A) the related announcement is closed; 

16 (B) certificates have been audited; and 

17 (C) all hiring processes are completed. 

18 (4) DELAYED REPORTING.—If the Director is 

19 unable to publish and submit the report within the 

20 timeline required under paragraph (1), the Director 

21 shall publish on a public-facing website, and submit 

22 to the relevant committees, a notification of the 

23 delay that— 

24 (A) provides a reason for the delay; and 
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1 (B) advises the public and the relevant 

2 committees of the anticipated date of publica3 tion and submission of the report. 

4 (c) PROVISION OF DATA BY AGENCIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

7 shall issue guidance to examining agencies regarding 

8 the data that the Director needs from the examining 

9 agencies in order to comply with subsections (a) and 

10 (b). 

11 (2) REPORTING TIMELINES.—Each examining 

12 agency shall provide the data outlined in the guid13 ance issued by the Director under paragraph (1) on 

14 a quarterly basis. 

15 SEC. 6. GAO REPORT. 

16 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

18 shall submit to Congress a report that— 

19 (1) assesses the implementation of this Act and 

20 the amendments made by this Act; 

21 (2) assesses the impact of modifications made 

22 by this Act to the hiring process for the competitive 

23 service under section 3304 of title 5, United States 

24 Code; and 
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1 (3) makes recommendations for the improve2 ment of the hiring process for the competitive serv3 ice. 

4 SEC. 7. EVALUATION FOR POTENTIAL UPDATES OR REVI5 SIONS TO GOVERNMENT-WIDE SYSTEMS OF 

6 RECORDS AT THE OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

7 MANAGEMENT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall evaluate 

10 whether the Government-wide system of records notices, 

11 the OPM/GOVT–5 Recruiting, Examining, and Placement 

12 Records, and the OPM/GOVT–6 Personnel Research and 

13 Test Validation Records, or any successor materials there14 to, require updating or revision in order to support the 

15 implementation of this Act and the amendments made by 

16 this Act. 

17 (b) ISSUANCE OF UPDATES OR REVISIONS; NOTICE

18 TO CONGRESS.—If the Director determines under sub19 section (a) that any updates or revisions are necessary, 

20 the Director, in accordance with section 552a of title 5, 
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1 United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Privacy 

2 Act’’), shall promptly— 

3 (1) issue the updates or revisions; and 

4 (2) notify the relevant committees. 

Passed the Senate December 12, 2024. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 59 

AN ACT 

To implement merit-based reforms to the civil servwith skills- and competency-based hiring. ice hiring system that replace degree-based hiring