79–006 

1 ‘‘Applying for a Job with the National Park Service.’’ About Us. National Park Service 

website. https://www.nps.gov/about us/how-to-apply.htm, 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 115–967 

TO MODIFY THE APPLICATION OF TEMPORARY LIMITED 

APPOINTMENT REGULATIONS TO THE NATIONAL PARK 

SERVICE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2018.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 6599] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 6599) to modify the application of temporary limited appointment regulations to the National Park Service, and for other 

purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 

without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 6599 is to modify the application of temporary limited appointment regulations to the National Park Service. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Every year, millions of people from the United States and abroad 

visit our national parks. To protect park resources and to serve the 

public, the National Park Service (NPS) employs a permanent 

workforce and an essential temporary seasonal workforce. Thousands of temporary seasonal employees are hired every year to assist permanent staff at many NPS parks and offices.1 They have 

proven to be indispensable to park operations, and represent a variety of positions, including park rangers, firefighters, trail crew, 

fee collectors, grounds crew and law enforcement officers. 


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2 ‘‘Temporary Limited Appointments’’. Title 5 CFR 316.401–402. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ 

pkg/CFR–2012-title5-vol1/pdf/CFR–2012-title5-vol1.pdf. 3 US Office of Personnel Management. October 2016. ‘HR Transformation and Talent Management at the National Park Service: FY15–FY16’’. 4 National Park Service Memorandum. May 15, 2018. ‘‘Updated Guidance for the Determination and Use of Non-Competitive Rehire Eligibility for Temporary Seasonal Appointments’’. 

https://www.nps.gov/about us/upload/Updated-Guidance-Non-Competitive-Rehire.pdf. 5 Id. 

6 NTEU The National Treasury Employees Union. Letter from National President Anthony M. 

Reardon to the Honorable Tom McClintock, Chairman Subcommittee on Federal Lands and the 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa, Ranking Member Subcommittee on Federal Lands. Dated April 

16, 2018. 7 ‘‘Many Lose Jobs after National Park Service Changes Interpretation of Seasonal Work 

Rule’’. Government Executive. April 20, 2018. https://www.govexec.com/management/2018/04/ 

many-lose-jobs-after-national-park-service-changes-interpretation-seasonal-work-rule/147618/. 

Many NPS temporary seasonal employees will return to work at 

the same park for several summers. These employees may be rehired at the start of each season without reapplying for the same 

job they held the previous season. Temporary seasonal employees 

may only be rehired for the same job title at the same pay grade, 

and the reappointment is contingent upon a satisfactory performance review. This practice is authorized by the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) and applies to all federal agencies.2 Agencies 

benefit in cost and time savings from the reduced recruitment, 

interviewing, and vetting workload, and temporary seasonal employees gain an element of certainty in their summer employment 

plans. 

Recently, the NPS’s interpretation and implementation of the applicable federal hiring regulations have been called into question by 

the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In October 2016, OPM 

conducted a human resources audit of NPS workforce strategies, 

staffing operations, and compliance with laws, regulations and policies.3 OPM was particularly concerned with the perceived misuse 

of time-limited appointing authorities, including the temporary seasonal rehire authority. 

The crux of the issue is the interpretation of the term ‘‘major 

subdivision’’ in the applicable regulation found at 5 C.F.R. 316.401. 

For an employee to be eligible for rehiring authority, the employee 

must not work more than six months in a major subdivision of an 

agency. OPM defines ‘‘major subdivision’’ as the bureau of a federal 

agency, e.g. the NPS. The NPS interpreted ‘‘major subdivision’’ as 

an individual park unit, e.g. Yellowstone National Park.4 NPS had 

been permitting temporary seasonal employees to work a summer 

season in one park and a winter season in a different park unit. 

In OPM’s view, such an employee had worked more than six 

months and in cases where such an employee was subsequently rehired non-competitively, NPS had violated the federal regulation. 

NPS was directed by OPM to make operational changes to ensure compliance with regulations that govern the hiring and rehiring of temporary seasonal employees.5 The implementation of the 

directive created confusion for NPS managers, hiring officials, and 

temporary seasonal employees expecting to return to their previously held positions.6 It also threatened the ability of parks to 

open and operate as normal for the upcoming season. Many temporary seasonal employees lost their ability to be rehired under 

this simplified authority and were left unexpectedly out of a job 

they had planned on.7


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8 ‘‘Temporary Limited Appointments’’. Title 5 CFR 316.401–402. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ 

pkg/CFR–2012-title5-vol1/pdf/CFR–2012-title5-vol1.pdf. 

H.R. 6599 would authorize the NPS Director to define the term 

‘‘major subdivision’’ in the CFR as it pertains to the NPS. This specific reference is in section 316.401 of subpart D of part 316 of title 

5, CFR.8 The bill also states that the requirement that a position 

be in the same local commuting area shall not apply. 

Some NPS temporary seasonal employees work at multiple parks 

in a calendar year to gain the experience they will need to qualify 

for permanent positions. Others enjoy working in different parts of 

the country and prefer the flexible lifestyle. In either case, temporary seasonal workers are often the face and backbone of our 

parks and are critical to the successful operation of the NPS. H.R. 

6599 gives the NPS the flexibility it has long enjoyed to hire the 

experienced workforce it needs to protect our parks and serve visitors from around the world. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 6599 was introduced on July 26, 2018, by Congressman Stephen Knight (R–CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 

on Federal Lands. On September 5, 2018, the Natural Resources 

Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered, and 

the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

ACT

1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 308(a) and 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 

received the following estimate for the bill from the Director of the 

Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, September 20, 2018. 

Hon. ROB BISHOP, 

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 6599, a bill to modify the 

application of temporary limited appointment regulations to the 

National Park Service, and for other purposes. 


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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jacob Fabian. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, Director. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 6599—A bill to modify the application of temporary limited 

appointment regulations to the National Park Service, and for 

other purposes 

H.R. 6599 would allow the National Park Service (NPS) to resume its previous policy of hiring and rehiring temporary seasonal 

workers at different parks. Prior to May 2018, the NPS allowed 

temporary seasonal employees to work the winter season in one 

park and the summer season in a different park. The Office of Personnel Management determined that this practice was a violation 

of federal regulations and in May 2018 directed the NPS to make 

operational changes to ensure compliance with the regulations that 

govern the hiring and rehiring of temporary seasonal workers. 

Using information from the NPS, CBO estimates that the cost of 

implementing H.R. 6599 would not be significant. 

Enacting H.R. 6599 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6599 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2029. 

H.R. 6599 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jacob Fabian. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to modify the application of temporary limited appointment regulations to the National Park Service. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any directed 

rule makings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

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suant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing law. 


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