II 

Calendar No. 651 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 59 

[Report No. 118–250] 

To implement merit-based reforms to the civil service hiring system that 

replace degree-based hiring with skills- and competency-based hiring. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 24 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2023 

Ms. SINEMA (for herself, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. LANKFORD, and Mr. CARPER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

DECEMBER 2, 2024 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) TERMS DEFINED IN SECTION 3304 OF TITLE 5, 

3 UNITED STATES CODE.—In this Act, the terms ‘‘agency’’, 

4 ‘‘Director’’, ‘‘examining agency’’, ‘‘Office’’, ‘‘subject mat5 ter expert’’, and ‘‘technical assessment’’ have the mean6 ings given those terms in subsection (c)(1) of section 3304 

7 of title 5, United States Code, as added by section 3(a). 

8 (b) OTHER TERMS.—In this Act, the term ‘‘competi9 tive service’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

10 2102 of title 5, United States Code. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINING THE TERM ‘‘EXAMINATION’’ FOR PUR12 POSES OF HIRING IN THE COMPETITIVE 

13 SERVICE. 

14 (a) EXAMINATIONS; TECHNICAL ASSESSMENTS.— 

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

16 United States Code, is amended— 

17 (A) by redesignating subsections (c) 

18 through (f) as subsections (d) through (g), re19 spectively; and 

20 (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(c) EXAMINATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) EXAMINATION DEFINED FOR PUR25 POSES OF THIS CHAPTER.—For purposes of 

26 this chapter, the term ‘examination’— 


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1 ‘‘(i) means an opportunity to directly 

2 demonstrate knowledge, skills, abilities, 

3 and competencies, through a passing score 

4 assessment; 

5 ‘‘(ii) includes a r ́esum ́e review that 

6 is— 

7 ‘‘(I) conducted by a subject mat8 ter expert; and 

9 ‘‘(II) based upon indicators 

10 that— 

11 ‘‘(aa) are derived from a job 

12 analysis; and 

13 ‘‘(bb) bear a rational rela14 tionship to performance in the 

15 position for which the examining 

16 agency is hiring; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) on and after the date that is 2 

18 years after the date of enactment of the 

19 Chance to Compete Act of 2023, does not 

20 include a self-assessment from an auto21 mated examination, a r ́esum ́e review (ex22 cept as provided in clause (ii)), or any 

23 other method of determining the experi24 ence or level of educational attainment of 

25 an individual, alone. 


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1 ‘‘(B) OTHER TERMS.—In this subsection— 

2 ‘‘(i) the term ‘agency’ means an agen3 cy described in section 901(b) of title 31; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘Director’ means the 

5 Director of the Office; 

6 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘examining agency’ 

7 means— 

8 ‘‘(I) the Office; or 

9 ‘‘(II) an agency to which the Di10 rector has delegated examining au11 thority under section 1104(a)(2) of 

12 this title; 

13 ‘‘(iv) the term ‘Office’ means the Of14 fice of Personnel Management; 

15 ‘‘(v) the term ‘passing score assess16 ment’ means an assessment that an indi17 vidual can pass or fail; 

18 ‘‘(vi) the term ‘subject matter expert’ 

19 means an employee or selecting official— 

20 ‘‘(I) who possesses understanding 

21 of the duties of, and knowledge, skills, 

22 and abilities required for, the position 

23 for which the employee or selecting of24 ficial is developing or administering 

25 an assessment; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) whom the delegated exam2 ining unit of the agency that employs 

3 the employee or selecting official des4 ignates to assist in the development 

5 and administration of technical as6 sessments under paragraph (2); and 

7 ‘‘(vii) the term ‘technical assessment’ 

8 means an assessment developed under 

9 paragraph (2)(A)(i) that— 

10 ‘‘(I) allows for the demonstration 

11 of job-related technical skills, abilities, 

12 and knowledge; 

13 ‘‘(II)(aa) is based upon a job 

14 analysis; 

15 ‘‘(bb) is relevant to the position 

16 for which the assessment is developed; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(cc) does not discriminate on 

19 the basis of a protected status, as es20 tablished by the Director in regula21 tions implementing this subsection; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(III) may include— 

24 ‘‘(aa) a structured interview; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) a work-related exer2 cise; 

3 ‘‘(cc) a custom or generic 

4 procedure used to measure an in5 dividual’s employment or career6 related qualifications and inter7 ests; or 

8 ‘‘(dd) another assessment 

9 that meets the criteria under 

10 subclauses (I) and (II). 

11 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSESSMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of 

13 conducting an examination for a position in the 

14 competitive service, a subject matter expert who 

15 is determined by the subject matter expert’s 

16 agency to be an expert in the subject and job 

17 field of the position, as affirmed and audited by 

18 the Chief Human Capital Officer or Human Re19 sources Director (as applicable) of that agency, 

20 may— 

21 ‘‘(i) develop, in partnership with 

22 human resources employees of the exam23 ining agency, a position-specific assessment 

24 that is relevant to the position; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) administer the assessment devel2 oped under clause (i) to— 

3 ‘‘(I) determine whether an appli4 cant for the position has a passing 

5 score to be qualified for the position; 

6 or 

7 ‘‘(II) rank applicants for the po8 sition for category rating purposes 

9 under section 3319. 

10 ‘‘(B) SHARING AND CUSTOMIZATION OF

11 ASSESSMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) SHARING.—An examining agency 

13 may share a technical assessment with an14 other examining agency if each agency 

15 maintains appropriate control over exam16 ination material. 

17 ‘‘(ii) CUSTOMIZATION.—An examining 

18 agency with which a technical assessment 

19 is shared under clause (i) may customize 

20 the assessment as appropriate, provided 

21 that the resulting assessment satisfies the 

22 requirements under part 300 of title 5, 

23 Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc24 cessor regulation). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) PLATFORM FOR SHARING AND

2 CUSTOMIZATION.— 

3 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Director 

4 shall establish and operate a platform 

5 on which examining agencies can 

6 share and customize technical assess7 ments under this subparagraph. 

8 ‘‘(II) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 

9 1 year after the date of enactment of 

10 the Chance to Compete Act of 2023, 

11 the Director shall issue guidance to 

12 examining agencies on how to effi13 ciently and effectively share assess14 ments using the platform established 

15 under subclause (I). 

16 ‘‘(C) ADOPTION OF DETERMINATIONS BY

17 OTHER AGENCIES.—For purposes of sections 

18 3318(b) and 3319(c), an appointing authority, 

19 other than the appointing authority requesting 

20 a certificate of eligibles, that selects an indi21 vidual from that certificate in accordance with 

22 such section 3318(b) or 3319(c) may adopt the 

23 determination described in subparagraph (A) of 

24 this paragraph of a subject matter expert em25 ployed by the requesting appointing authority 


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1 instead of administering an additional technical 

2 assessment of the individual.’’. 

3 (2) ALTERNATIVE RANKING AND SELECTION

4 PROCEDURES.—Section 3319(a) of title 5, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: ‘‘To be placed in a quality category under 

7 the preceding sentence, an applicant shall be re8 quired to have passed an examination in accordance 

9 with section 3304(b), subject to the exceptions in 

10 that section.’’. 

11 (3) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND12 MENT.—Section 3330a(a)(1)(B) of title 5, United 

13 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

14 3304(f)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3304(g)(1)’’. 

15 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF PASSING SCORE ASSESS16 MENT REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Director and the head 

18 of any other examining agency shall eliminate the use of 

19 any examination for the competitive service that does not 

20 satisfy the definition of the term ‘‘examination’’ in sub21 section (c)(1)(A) of section 3304 of title 5, United States 

22 Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section. 

23 (c) OPM REPORTING.— 

24 (1) PUBLIC DASHBOARD.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall 

2 maintain and periodically update a publicly 

3 available dashboard that, with respect to each 

4 position in the competitive service for which an 

5 examining agency examined applicants during 

6 the applicable period, includes— 

7 (i) the type of assessment used, such 

8 as— 

9 (I) a behavioral off-the-shelf as10 sessment; 

11 (II) a r ́esum ́e review conducted 

12 by a subject matter expert; 

13 (III) an interview conducted by a 

14 subject matter expert; 

15 (IV) a technical off-the-shelf as16 sessment; or 

17 (V) a cognitive ability test; 

18 (ii) whether or not the agency selected 

19 a candidate for the position; and 

20 (iii) the hiring authority used to fill 

21 the position. 

22 (B) TIMING.— 

23 (i) INITIAL DATA.—Not later than 

24 180 days after the date of enactment of 

25 this Act, the Director shall update the 


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1 dashboard described in subparagraph (A) 

2 with data for positions in the competitive 

3 service for which an examining agency ex4 amined applicants during the period begin5 ning on the date of enactment of this Act 

6 and ending on the date of submission of 

7 the report. 

8 (ii) SUBSEQUENT UPDATES.—Not 

9 later than October 1 of each fiscal year be10 ginning after the date on which the dash11 board is initially updated under clause (i), 

12 the Director shall update the dashboard 

13 described in subparagraph (A) with data 

14 for positions in the competitive service for 

15 which an examining agency examined ap16 plicants during the preceding fiscal year. 

17 (2) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the Direc19 tor, in accordance with subparagraphs (B) and 

20 (C), shall make publicly available and submit to 

21 Congress an overall progress report that in22 cludes summary data of the use of examinations 

23 (as defined in subsection (c)(1)(A) of section 

24 3304 of title 5, United States Code, as added 


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1 by subsection (a) of this section) for the com2 petitive service, including technical assessments. 

3 (B) CATEGORIES; BASELINE DATA.—In 

4 carrying out subparagraph (A), the Director 

5 shall— 

6 (i) break the data down by applicant 

7 demographic indicator, including veteran 

8 status, race, gender, disability, and any 

9 other measure the Director determines ap10 propriate; and 

11 (ii) use the data available as of Octo12 ber 1, 2020, as a baseline. 

13 (C) LIMITATIONS.—In carrying out sub14 paragraph (A), the Director may only make 

15 publicly available and submit to Congress data 

16 relating to examinations for which— 

17 (i) the related announcement is 

18 closed; 

19 (ii) certificates have been audited; and 

20 (iii) all hiring processes are com21 pleted. 

22 (d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

24 of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 

25 that— 


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1 (1) assesses the implementation of this section 

2 and the amendments made by this section; 

3 (2) assesses the impact and modifications to the 

4 hiring process for the competitive service made by 

5 this section and the amendments made by this sec6 tion; and 

7 (3) makes recommendations for the improve8 ment of the hiring process for the competitive serv9 ice. 

10 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO COMPETITIVE SERVICE ACT OF 

11 2015. 

12 (a) PLATFORMS FOR SHARING CERTIFICATES OF

13 ELIGIBLES.—Section 3318(b) of title 5, United States 

14 Code, is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘240-day’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘1-year’’; 

17 (2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para18 graph (6); and 

19 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(5) PLATFORM FOR SHARING RE ́SUME ́S OF IN22 DIVIDUALS ON CERTIFICATES OF ELIGIBLES.—The 

23 Director of the Office shall establish and operate a 

24 platform on which an appointing authority can 

25 share, with other appointing authorities and the 


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1 Chief Human Capital Officers Council established 

2 under section 1303 of the Chief Human Capital Of3 ficers Act of 2002 (5 U.S.C. 1401 note; Public Law 

4 107–296), the r ́esum ́es of individuals who are on a 

5 certificate of eligibles requested by the appointing 

6 authority.’’. 

7 (b) MAXIMIZING SHARING OF APPLICANT INFORMA8 TION.—Section 2 of the Competitive Service Act of 2015 

9 (Public Law 114–137; 130 Stat. 310) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

11 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 

12 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(c) MAXIMIZING SHARING OF APPLICANT INFORMA15 TION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

17 ‘‘(A) the terms ‘agency’, ‘Director’, and 

18 ‘Office’ have the meanings given those terms in 

19 section 3304(c)(1) of title 5, United States 

20 Code; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the term ‘competitive service’ has the 

22 meaning given the term in section 2102 of title 

23 5, United States Code. 

24 ‘‘(2) MAXIMIZING SHARING.—The Director 

25 shall maximize the sharing of information among 


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1 agencies regarding qualified applicants for positions 

2 in the competitive service, including by— 

3 ‘‘(A) providing for the delegation to other 

4 agencies of the authority of the Office to host 

5 multi-agency hiring actions to increase the re6 turn on investment on high-quality pooled an7 nouncements; and 

8 ‘‘(B) sharing certificates of eligibles and 

9 accompanying r ́esum ́es for appointment.’’. 

10 (c) AMENDMENT OF IMPLEMENTING REGULA11 TIONS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact12 ment of this Act, the Director shall promulgate regulations 

13 to carry out the amendments made by this section. 

14 SEC. 5. MODERNIZING AND REFORMING THE ASSESSMENT 

15 AND HIRING OF FEDERAL JOB CANDIDATES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3308 of title 5, United 

17 States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘scientific, technical, or profes19 sional’’; 

20 (2) by inserting ‘‘legally’’ before ‘‘performed’’; 

21 and 

22 (3) by inserting ‘‘in a jurisdiction in which the 

23 duties of the position are to be performed’’ after ‘‘a 

24 prescribed minimum education’’. 

25 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.— 


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1 (1) REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE DOCU2 MENTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of en3 actment of this Act, the Director shall amend all 

4 regulations and guidance documents as necessary to 

5 implement the amendments made by subsection (a). 

6 (2) HIRING PRACTICES.—Not later than 1 year 

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

8 and the head of any other examining agency shall 

9 amend the hiring practices of the Office or the other 

10 examining agency, respectively, in accordance with 

11 the amendments made by subsection (a). 

12 SEC. 6. TALENT TEAMS. 

13 (a) FEDERAL AGENCY TALENT TEAMS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—An agency may establish 1 

15 or more talent teams (referred to in this section as 

16 ‘‘agency talent teams’’), including at the component 

17 level. 

18 (2) DUTIES.—An agency talent team shall pro19 vide hiring support to the agency and other agencies, 

20 including by— 

21 (A) improving examinations (as defined in 

22 subsection (c)(1)(A) of section 3304 of title 5, 

23 United States Code, as added by section 3(a)); 

24 (B) facilitating writing job announcements 

25 for the competitive service; 


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1 (C) sharing high-quality certificates of eli2 gibles; and 

3 (D) facilitating hiring for the competitive 

4 service using examinations (as defined in such 

5 subsection (c)(1)(A)) and subject matter ex6 perts. 

7 (b) OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT.—The 

8 Director may establish a Federal talent team to support 

9 agency talent teams in facilitating pooled hiring actions 

10 across the Federal Government, providing training, and 

11 creating technology platforms to facilitate hiring for the 

12 competitive service, including— 

13 (1) the development of technical assessments; 

14 and 

15 (2) the sharing of certificates of eligibles and 

16 accompanying r ́esum ́es under sections 3318(b) and 

17 3319(c) of title 5, United States Code. 

18 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

20 of 2024’’. 

21 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

22 (a) AMENDATORY DEFINITIONS.— 

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

24 United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (A) by redesignating subsections (b) through 

2 (g) as subsections (i) through (n), respectively; 

3 (B) by redesignating subsection (a) as sub4 section (b); and 

5 (C) by inserting before subsection (b), as so 

6 redesignated, the following: 

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

8 ‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ means an Ex9 ecutive agency. 

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

11 Director of the Office. 

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

13 means the process by which an applicant dem14 onstrates knowledge, skills, abilities, and com15 petencies. 

16 ‘‘(4) EXAMINING AGENCY.—The term ‘examining 

17 agency’ means— 

18 ‘‘(A) the Office; or 

19 ‘‘(B) an agency to which the Director has 

20 delegated examining authority under section 

21 1104(a)(2). 

22 ‘‘(5) OCCUPATIONAL QUESTIONNAIRE.—The term 

23 ‘occupational questionnaire’ means a rating and ex24 perience evaluation or assessment questionnaire 

25 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is used to screen, rate, and rank an 

2 applicant; 

3 ‘‘(B) is commonly delivered through auto4 mated staffing systems used for Federal hiring; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(C) consists of self-ratings of training and 

7 experience. 

8 ‘‘(6) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Office 

9 of Personnel Management. 

10 ‘‘(7) PASSING SCORE.—The term ‘passing score’ 

11 means a minimum acceptable score or rating, con12 sistent with applicable law, that may include a quan13 titative or qualitative assessment that an applicant 

14 can pass or fail. 

15 ‘‘(8) RELEVANT COMMITTEES.—The term ‘rel16 evant committees’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

18 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Oversight and Ac20 countability of the House of Representatives. 

21 ‘‘(9) RESUME REVIEW.—The term ‘resume re22 view’ means an evaluation of an applicant’s resume 

23 that is conducted by a subject matter expert. 


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1 ‘‘(10) SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT.—The term 

2 ‘subject matter expert’ means an employee or selecting 

3 official— 

4 ‘‘(A) who possesses an understanding of the 

5 duties of, and knowledge, skills, and abilities re6 quired for, the position for which the employee or 

7 selecting official is developing or administering 

8 an examination; and 

9 ‘‘(B) whom the delegated examining unit of 

10 the examining agency that employs the employee 

11 or selecting official designates to assist in the de12 velopment and administration of technical as13 sessments. 

14 ‘‘(11) TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT.—The term ‘tech15 nical assessment’ means a position-specific tool that 

16 is relevant to the position for which the tool is devel17 oped that— 

18 ‘‘(A) allows for the demonstration of job-re19 lated skills, abilities, knowledge, and com20 petencies; 

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

22 ‘‘(C) does not include an occupational ques23 tionnaire.’’. 

24 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND25 MENTS.— 


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

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

3 (i) in chapter 33— 

4 (I) in section 3302(2), by striking 

5 ‘‘3304(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘3304(b)’’; 

6 and 

7 (II) in section 3330a(a)(1)(B), by 

8 striking ‘‘3304(f)(1)’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘3304(m)(1)’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘3304(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘3304(i)’’. 

12 (B) ACT TO ESTABLISH A COMMISSION ON

13 SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE.—Sec14 tion 8(d)(2) of the Act entitled, ‘‘An Act to estab15 lish a Commission on Security and Cooperation 

16 in Europe’’, approved June 3, 1976 (22 U.S.C. 

17 3008(d)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘3304(c)(1)’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘3304(j)(1)’’. 

19 (C) U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS ACT OF 2000.— 

20 Section 308(e)(2) of the U.S.-China Relations 

21 Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 6918(e)(2)) is amended 

22 by striking ‘‘3304(c)(1)’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘3304(j)(1)’’. 

24 (D) ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND SECURITY

25 ACT OF 2007.—Section 136(i)(1) of the Energy 


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1 Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 

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

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

4 (E) SUBSECTION HEADINGS.—Section 3304 

5 of title 5, United States Code, as amended by 

6 paragraph (1) of this subsection, is amended— 

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

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

9 President’’; 

10 (ii) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘An 

11 individual’’ and inserting ‘‘EXAMINATION

12 OR EXCEPTION REQUIRED.—An indi13 vidual’’; 

14 (iii) in subsection (j), by striking ‘‘(1) 

15 For the purpose’’ and inserting ‘‘TECHNI16 CIANS.—(1) For the purpose’’; 

17 (iv) in subsection (k), by striking ‘‘The 

18 Office’’ and inserting ‘‘CONSIDERATION OF

19 EXPERIENCE.—The office’’; 

20 (v) in subsection (l), by striking ‘‘Em21 ployees’’ and inserting ‘‘USE OF PUBLIC

22 BUILDINGS.—Employees’’; and 

23 (vi) in subsection (m), by striking ‘‘(1) 

24 Preference eligibles or veterans’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘PREFERENCE ELIGIBLES AND VETVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Dec 03, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S59.RS S59

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1 ERANS.—(1) Preference eligibles or vet2 erans’’. 

3 (b) FREESTANDING DEFINITIONS.—In this Act— 

4 (1) each term that is defined in section 3304(a) 

5 of title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection 

6 (a) of this section, shall have the meaning given the 

7 term in such section 3304(a); and 

8 (2) the term ‘‘competitive service’’ has the mean9 ing given the term in section 2102 of title 5, United 

10 States Code. 

11 SEC. 3. MODERNIZING FEDERAL HIRING. 

12 Section 3304 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

13 by inserting after subsection (b), as redesignated by section 

14 2, the following: 

15 ‘‘(c) EXAMINATIONS.— 

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

17 applicants for appointment for a position, or class of 

18 positions, in the competitive service, an examining 

19 agency shall conduct an examination pursuant to 

20 subsection (b). 

21 ‘‘(2) INTERIM EXAMINATION PERIOD.— 

22 ‘‘(A) PREFERENCE FOR TECHNICAL ASSESS23 MENT.—During the 3-year period beginning on 

24 the date of enactment of the Chance to Compete 

25 Act of 2024, an examining agency shall prefVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Dec 03, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S59.RS S59

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1 erence the use of a technical assessment, to the 

2 maximum extent practicable, to assess the job-re3 lated skills, abilities, knowledge, and com4 petencies of an applicant for a position in the 

5 competitive service. 

6 ‘‘(B) USE OF OCCUPATIONAL QUESTION7 NAIRE.—During the 3-year period beginning on 

8 the date of enactment of the Chance to Compete 

9 Act of 2024, if an examining agency determines 

10 that the use of a technical assessment to assess 

11 the job-related skills, abilities, knowledge, and 

12 competencies of an applicant for a position in 

13 the competitive service is not practicable, the ex14 amining agency may use an occupational ques15 tionnaire for that purpose if the examining 

16 agency— 

17 ‘‘(i) includes a brief description of the 

18 rationale for the use of the occupational 

19 questionnaire in the job posting; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) adheres to the process under sub21 section (e). 

22 ‘‘(3) TRANSITION PLANNING.— 

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

24 after the date of enactment of the Chance to 

25 Compete Act of 2024, the Director shall submit 


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1 to the relevant committees a plan to transition 

2 Federal hiring practices to adopt technical as3 sessments in accordance with subsection (d), 

4 which shall include— 

5 ‘‘(i) the prioritization of— 

6 ‘‘(I) job classifications; and 

7 ‘‘(II) resource requirements; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) a timeline for full implementa9 tion of the transition. 

10 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION.—In de11 veloping the plan under subparagraph (A), the 

12 Director shall consult with, at minimum— 

13 ‘‘(i) the Director of the Office of Man14 agement and Budget; 

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

16 Capital Officers Council; 

17 ‘‘(iii) employee representatives; and 

18 ‘‘(iv) relevant external stakeholders. 

19 ‘‘(4) IMPLEMENTATION OF TECHNICAL ASSESS20 MENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN.—Not later 

22 than 3 years after the date of enactment of the 

23 Chance to Compete Act of 2024, the Director 

24 shall implement the plan submitted under para25 graph (3). 


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1 ‘‘(B) ADOPTION OF TECHNICAL ASSESS2 MENTS.—On and after the date that is 3 years 

3 after the date of enactment of the Chance to 

4 Compete Act of 2024, an examining agency shall 

5 use a technical assessment to examine applicants 

6 for positions in the competitive service in accord7 ance with subsection (d). 

8 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The requirement 

10 under subparagraph (B) shall not apply to 

11 an examining agency with respect to a par12 ticular job series if— 

13 ‘‘(I) the examining agency deter14 mines that use of a technical assess15 ment is impracticable for the job series; 

16 ‘‘(II) the head of the examining 

17 agency submits to the Director and the 

18 relevant committees a certification that 

19 use of the technical assessment is im20 practicable, which certification shall 

21 include— 

22 ‘‘(aa) identification of the job 

23 series; 

24 ‘‘(bb) identification of the 

25 number of positions that are inVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Dec 03, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S59.RS S59

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1 cluded in the job series within the 

2 agency for which the examining 

3 agency is conducting examina4 tions; and 

5 ‘‘(cc) a description of the ra6 tionale for the determination; and 

7 ‘‘(III) the examining agency ad8 heres to the process under subsection 

9 (e). 

10 ‘‘(ii) EFFECTIVENESS OF WAIVER.—A 

11 waiver under this subparagraph shall be ef12 fective for the period— 

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

14 1 day after the date on which the ap15 plicable certification is submitted 

16 under clause (i)(II); and 

17 ‘‘(II) ending on the date that is 3 

18 years after the date on which the ap19 plicable certification is submitted 

20 under clause (i)(II). 

21 ‘‘(iii) RENEWAL OF WAIVER.—The 

22 head of an examining agency may renew a 

23 waiver under this subparagraph by submit24 ting a new certification under clause (i)(II) 

25 not more than 30 days before the date that 


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1 is 3 years after the date on which the pre2 vious certification was submitted under that 

3 clause. 

4 ‘‘(iv) NO DELEGATION OF CERTIFI5 CATION AUTHORITY.—The head of an exam6 ining agency may not delegate the authority 

7 to submit a certification under clause 

8 (i)(II). 

9 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of con11 ducting an examination for a position in the com12 petitive service, an individual who is determined by 

13 an examining agency to be a subject matter expert in 

14 the subject and job field of the position may— 

15 ‘‘(A) develop, in partnership with human 

16 resources employees of the examining agency, a 

17 position-specific assessment that is relevant to 

18 the position, based on job analysis, which may 

19 include— 

20 ‘‘(i) a structured interview; 

21 ‘‘(ii) a work-related exercise; 

22 ‘‘(iii) a custom or generic procedure 

23 used to measure an applicant’s employment 

24 or career-related qualifications and inter25 ests; or 


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1 ‘‘(iv) another assessment that— 

2 ‘‘(I) allows for the demonstration 

3 of job-related technical skills, abilities, 

4 and knowledge; and 

5 ‘‘(II) is relevant to the position 

6 for which the assessment is developed; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) administer the assessment developed 

9 under subparagraph (A) to— 

10 ‘‘(i) determine whether an applicant 

11 for the position has a passing score to be 

12 qualified for the position; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) rank applicants for the position 

14 for category rating purposes under section 

15 3319. 

16 ‘‘(2) FEASIBILITY STUDY ON SHARING AND

17 CUSTOMIZATION OF ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 1 

18 year after the date of enactment of the Chance to 

19 Compete Act of 2024, the Director shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) conduct a feasibility study that exam21 ines the practicability, including a cost benefit 

22 analysis, of— 

23 ‘‘(i) the sharing of technical assess24 ments by an examining agency with an25 other examining agency; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) mechanisms for each examining 

2 agency to maintain appropriate control 

3 over examination material that is shared by 

4 the examining agency as described in clause 

5 (i); 

6 ‘‘(iii) limits on customization of a 

7 technical assessment that is shared as de8 scribed in clause (i) and mechanisms to en9 sure that the resulting technical assessment 

10 satisfies the requirements under part 300 of 

11 title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 

12 successor regulation); and 

13 ‘‘(iv) the development of an online 

14 platform on which examining agencies can 

15 share and customize technical assessments 

16 as described in this subparagraph; and 

17 ‘‘(B) submit to the relevant committees a re18 port on the study conducted under subparagraph 

19 (A). 

20 ‘‘(e) OCCUPATIONAL QUESTIONNAIRE.—For the pur21 pose of conducting an examination for a position in the 

22 competitive service for which an examining agency has de23 termined that a technical assessment is impracticable under 

24 paragraph (2)(B) or (4)(C) of subsection (c), the examining 

25 agency shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) develop an occupational questionnaire in 

2 accordance with guidance or regulations of the Office; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(2) undertake a resume review for each can5 didate who is referred for additional consideration 

6 after analysis of the results of the occupational ques7 tionnaire is complete. 

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

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

10 or more agency talent teams, including at the compo11 nent level. 

12 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—An agency talent team shall pro13 vide 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 ‘‘(g) 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 hiring 

3 for the competitive service; and 

4 ‘‘(4) developing technical assessments. 

5 ‘‘(h) 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 RE9 FORM. 

10 (a) REVIEW.— 

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

12 review of examinations for hiring for each position in 

13 the competitive service that an examining agency has 

14 determined requires a minimum educational require15 ment because the position is of a scientific, technical, 

16 or professional nature pursuant to section 3308 of 

17 title 5, United States Code, to determine whether 

18 data, evidence, or other information justifies the need 

19 for educational requirements for the position. 

20 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out paragraph 

21 (1), the Director shall consult with, at minimum— 

22 (A) agencies, as deemed appropriate by the 

23 Director; 

24 (B) employee representatives; 

25 (C) external experts; and 


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1 (D) relevant stakeholders. 

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

3 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

4 shall submit to the relevant committees recommendations 

5 to amend the hiring practices of examining agencies in ac6 cordance with the findings of the review conducted under 

7 subsection (a)(1). 

8 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 

9 (a) IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS.— 

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

11 the date of enactment of this Act, and each year there12 after ending with the fifth publication and submission 

13 of the report, the Director shall publish on a public14 facing website, and submit to the relevant committees, 

15 a report that— 

16 (A) examines the progress of examining 

17 agencies in implementing the requirements of 

18 this Act and the amendments made by this Act; 

19 and 

20 (B) identifies any significant difficulties en21 countered in the implementation described in 

22 subparagraph (A). 

23 (2) INCLUSION IN ANNUAL REPORT.—The Direc24 tor may include the report required under paragraph 


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1 (1) as an addendum to the report required under sub2 section (b). 

3 (3) DELAYED REPORTING.—If the Director is un4 able to publish and submit the report within the 

5 timeline required under paragraph (1), the Director 

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

7 to the relevant committees, a notification of the delay 

8 that— 

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

10 (B) advises the public and the relevant com11 mittees of the anticipated date of publication 

12 and submission of the report. 

13 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

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

15 the date of enactment of this Act, and each year there16 after, the Director shall publish on a public-facing 

17 website and submit to the relevant committees a re18 port that, with respect to categories of positions in the 

19 competitive service for which an examining agency 

20 examined applicants during the applicable period, in21 cludes— 

22 (A) the type of examination used; and 

23 (B) summary data from examinations that 

24 are closed, audited, and anonymous on the use of 


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1 examinations for the competitive service, includ2 ing technical assessments. 

3 (2) DEMOGRAPHIC INDICATORS.—In carrying 

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

5 down by applicant demographic indicators to facili6 tate direct comparability and trendline comparisons 

7 to data available as of October 1, 2020, as a baseline. 

8 (3) LIMITATIONS.—In carrying out this sub9 section, the Director may only publish and submit to 

10 the relevant committees data relating to examinations 

11 for which— 

12 (A) the related announcement is closed; 

13 (B) certificates have been audited; and 

14 (C) all hiring processes are completed. 

15 (4) DELAYED REPORTING.—If the Director is un16 able to publish and submit the report within the 

17 timeline required under paragraph (1), the Director 

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

19 to the relevant committees, a notification of the delay 

20 that— 

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

22 (B) advises the public and the relevant com23 mittees of the anticipated date of publication 

24 and submission of the report. 

25 (c) PROVISION OF DATA BY AGENCIES.— 


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

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 

3 issue guidance to examining agencies regarding the 

4 data that the Director needs from the examining 

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

6 (b). 

7 (2) REPORTING TIMELINES.—Each examining 

8 agency shall provide the data outlined in the guid9 ance issued by the Director under paragraph (1) on 

10 a quarterly basis. 

11 SEC. 6. GAO REPORT. 

12 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 

13 this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

14 submit to Congress a report that— 

15 (1) assesses the implementation of this Act and 

16 the amendments made by this Act; 

17 (2) assesses the impact of modifications made by 

18 this Act to the hiring process for the competitive serv19 ice under section 3304 of title 5, United States Code; 

20 and 

21 (3) makes recommendations for the improvement 

22 of the hiring process for the competitive service. 


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1 SEC. 7. EVALUATION FOR POTENTIAL UPDATES OR REVI2 SIONS TO GOVERNMENT-WIDE SYSTEMS OF 

3 RECORDS AT THE OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

4 MANAGEMENT. 

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

6 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall evaluate whether 

7 the Government-wide system of records notices, the OPM/ 

8 GOVT–5 Recruiting, Examining, and Placement Records, 

9 and the OPM/GOVT–6 Personnel Research and Test Vali10 dation Records, or any successor materials thereto, require 

11 updating or revision in order to support the implementa12 tion of this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

13 (b) ISSUANCE OF UPDATES OR REVISIONS; NOTICE TO

14 CONGRESS.—If the Director determines under subsection 

15 (a) that any updates or revisions are necessary, the Direc16 tor, in accordance with section 552a of title 5, United States 

17 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Privacy Act’’), shall 

18 promptly— 

19 (1) issue the updates or revisions; and 

20 (2) notify the relevant committees. 


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Calendar No. 651 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 59 

[Report No. 118–250] 

A BILL 

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

DECEMBER 2, 2024 

Reported with an amendment 


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