IIB 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 159 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JANUARY 25, 2023 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
AN ACT 
To implement merit-based reforms to the civil service hiring 
system that replace degree-based hiring with skills- and 
competency-based hiring, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chance to Compete 
Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
(a) TERMS DEFINED IN SECTION 3304 OF TITLE 5, 
UNITED STATES CODE.—In this Act, the terms ‘‘agency’’, 
‘‘Director’’, ‘‘examining agency’’, ‘‘Office’’, ‘‘subject mat-
ter expert’’, and ‘‘technical assessment’’ have the mean-
ings given those terms in subsection (c)(1) of section 3304 
of title 5, United States Code, as added by section 3(a). 
(b) OTHER TERMS.—In this Act, the term ‘‘competi-
tive service’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
2102 of title 5, United States Code. 
SEC. 3. DEFINING THE TERM ‘‘EXAMINATION’’ FOR PUR-
POSES OF HIRING IN THE COMPETITIVE 
SERVICE. 
(a) EXAMINATIONS; TECHNICAL ASSESSMENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 3304 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(A) 
by 
redesignating 
subsections 
(c) 
through (f) as subsections (d) through (g), re-
spectively; and 
(B) by inserting after subsection (b) the 
following: 
‘‘(c) EXAMINATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.— 
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‘‘(A) EXAMINATION.— 
‘‘(i) In this chapter, the term ‘exam-
ination’— 
‘‘(I) means an opportunity to di-
rectly demonstrate knowledge, skills, 
abilities, and competencies, through a 
passing score assessment; 
‘‘(II) includes a re´sume´ review 
that is— 
‘‘(aa) conducted by a subject 
matter expert; and 
‘‘(bb) based upon indicators 
that— 
‘‘(AA) are derived from 
a job analysis; and 
‘‘(BB) bear a rational 
relationship to performance 
in the position for which the 
examining agency is hiring; 
and 
‘‘(III) on and after the date that 
is 2 years after the date of enactment 
of the Chance to Compete Act of 2023 
does not include a self-assessment 
from an automated examination, a 
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re´sume´ review (except as provided in 
subclause (II)), or any other method 
of determining the experience or level 
of educational attainment of an indi-
vidual, alone. 
‘‘(ii)(I) An agency’s Chief Human 
Capital Officer may waive clause (i)(III) 
when needed to enable the filling of a posi-
tion or class of positions. 
‘‘(II) Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of the Chance to 
Compete Act of 2023, the Director shall 
provide agencies guidance and instruction 
on the data, evidence, and circumstances 
that Chief Human Capital Officers of 
agencies should consider in determining 
whether to grant a waiver under subclause 
(I). 
‘‘(III)(aa) An agency shall post any 
waiver granted under subclause (I) on a 
public website within 30 days of the grant-
ing of the waiver. 
‘‘(bb) A waiver shall not be considered 
in effect until it is posted on the public 
website pursuant to item (aa). 
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‘‘(II) whom the agency that em-
ploys the employee or selecting official 
designates to assist in the develop-
ment and administration of technical 
assessments under paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(vi) the term ‘technical assessment’ 
means an assessment developed under 
paragraph (2)(A)(i) that— 
‘‘(I) allows for the demonstration 
of job-related technical skills, abilities, 
and knowledge; 
‘‘(II)(aa) is based upon a job 
analysis; and 
‘‘(bb) is relevant to the posi-
tion for which the assessment is 
developed; and 
‘‘(III) may include— 
‘‘(aa) a structured interview; 
‘‘(bb) a work-related exer-
cise; 
‘‘(cc) a custom or generic 
procedure used to measure an in-
dividual’s employment or career- 
related qualifications and inter-
ests; or 
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‘‘(dd) another assessment 
that meets the criteria under 
subclauses (I) and (II). 
‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSESSMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—For the purpose of 
conducting an examination for a position in the 
competitive service, an individual or individuals 
whom an agency determines to have an exper-
tise in the subject and job field of the position, 
as affirmed and audited by the Chief Human 
Capital Officer or Human Resources Director 
(as applicable) of that agency, may— 
‘‘(i) develop, in partnership with 
human resources employees of the exam-
ining agency, a position-specific assessment 
that is relevant to the position; and 
‘‘(ii) administer the assessment devel-
oped under clause (i) to— 
‘‘(I) determine whether an appli-
cant for the position has a passing 
score to be qualified for the position; 
or 
‘‘(II) rank applicants for the po-
sition for category rating purposes 
under section 3319. 
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‘‘(B) SHARING
AND
CUSTOMIZATION
OF 
ASSESSMENTS.— 
‘‘(i) SHARING.—An examining agency 
may share a technical assessment with an-
other examining agency if each agency 
maintains appropriate control over exam-
ination material. 
‘‘(ii) CUSTOMIZATION.—An examining 
agency with which a technical assessment 
is shared under clause (i) may customize 
the assessment as appropriate, provided 
that the resulting assessment satisfies the 
requirements under part 300 of title 5, 
Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc-
cessor regulation). 
‘‘(iii) PLATFORM FOR SHARING AND 
CUSTOMIZATION.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Director 
shall establish and operate an online 
platform on which examining agencies 
can share and customize technical as-
sessments under this subparagraph. 
‘‘(II) ONLINE
PLATFORM.—The 
Director shall ensure that the online 
platform described in subclause (I) in-
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cludes the ability of its users to rate 
the utility of the content and technical 
assessments shared in the online plat-
form to allow for a ranking of such 
contents. 
‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—Not later than one year 
after the date of enactment of the Chance to Com-
pete Act of 2023, the Office of Personnel Manage-
ment shall prescribe regulations necessary for the 
administration of this subsection with respect to em-
ployees in each agency.’’. 
(2) ALTERNATIVE
RANKING
AND
SELECTION 
PROCEDURES.—Section 3319(a) of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘To be placed in a quality category under 
the preceding sentence, an applicant shall be re-
quired to have passed an examination in accordance 
with section 3304(b).’’. 
(3) TECHNICAL
AND
CONFORMING
AMEND-
MENT.—Section 3330a(a)(1)(B) of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 
3304(f)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3304(g)(1)’’. 
(b) IMPLEMENTATION OF PASSING SCORE ASSESS-
MENT REQUIREMENT.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director and 
the head of any other examining agency shall elimi-
nate the use of any examination for the competitive 
service that does not satisfy the definition of the 
term ‘‘examination’’ in subsection (c)(1)(A) of sec-
tion 3304 of title 5, United States Code (as amend-
ed by subsection (a)(1)(B)). 
(2) REPORT
REQUIRED.—One year following 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 
submit to the Committee on Oversight and Account-
ability of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate a report examining agencies’ 
progress in implementing the requirement specified 
in paragraph (1), identifying any significant difficul-
ties encountered in such implementation. 
(c) OPM REPORTING.— 
(1) PUBLIC ONLINE TOOL.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Of-
fice of Personnel Management shall maintain 
and periodically update a publicly available on-
line tool that, with respect to each position in 
the competitive service for which an examining 
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agency examined applicants during the applica-
ble period, includes— 
(i) the type of assessment used, such 
as— 
(I) a behavioral off-the-shelf as-
sessment; 
(II) a re´sume´ review conducted 
by a subject matter expert; 
(III) an interview conducted by a 
subject matter expert; 
(IV) a technical off-the-shelf as-
sessment; or 
(V) a cognitive ability test; 
(ii) whether or not the agency selected 
a candidate for the position; and 
(iii) the hiring authority used to fill 
the position. 
(B) TIMING.— 
(i) INITIAL
DATA.—Not later than 
180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Director shall update the on-
line tool described in subparagraph (A) 
with data for positions in the competitive 
service for which an examining agency ex-
amined applicants during the period begin-
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ning on the date of enactment of this Act 
and ending on the date of submission of 
the report. 
(ii) 
SUBSEQUENT
UPDATES.—Not 
later than October 1 of each fiscal year be-
ginning after the date on which the online 
tool is initially updated under clause (i), 
the Director shall update the online tool 
described in subparagraph (A) with data 
for positions in the competitive service for 
which an examining agency examined ap-
plicants during the preceding fiscal year. 
(2) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the Direc-
tor, in accordance with subparagraphs (B) and 
(C), shall make publicly available and submit to 
Congress an overall progress report that in-
cludes summary data from examinations that 
are closed, audited, and anonymous on the use 
of examinations (as defined in subsection 
(c)(1)(A) of section 3304 of title 5, United 
States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this 
section) for the competitive service, including 
technical assessments. 
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(B) CATEGORIES; BASELINE
DATA.—In 
carrying out subparagraph (A), the Director 
shall— 
(i) break the data down by applicant 
demographic indicator, including veteran 
status, race, gender, disability, and any 
other measure the Director determines ap-
propriate; and 
(ii) use the data available as of Octo-
ber 1, 2020, as a baseline. 
(C) LIMITATIONS.—In carrying out sub-
paragraph (A), the Director may only make 
publicly available and submit to Congress data 
relating to examinations for which— 
(i) 
the 
related 
announcement 
is 
closed; 
(ii) certificates have been audited; and 
(iii) all hiring processes are com-
pleted. 
(d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 
of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 
that— 
(1) assesses the implementation of this section 
and the amendments made by this section; 
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(2) assesses the impact and modifications to the 
hiring process for the competitive service made by 
this section and the amendments made by this sec-
tion; and 
(3) makes recommendations for the improve-
ment of the hiring process for the competitive serv-
ice. 
SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO COMPETITIVE SERVICE ACT OF 
2015. 
(a) PLATFORMS
FOR SHARING CERTIFICATES
OF 
ELIGIBLES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3318(b) of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘240- 
day’’ and inserting ‘‘1-year’’; 
(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 
paragraph (6); and 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 
following: 
‘‘(5) ONLINE TOOL FOR SHARING RE´SUME´S OF 
INDIVIDUALS ON CERTIFICATES OF ELIGIBLES.—Not 
later than one year after the date of enactment of 
the Chance to Compete Act of 2023, the Director of 
the Office of Personnel Management shall establish 
and operate an online tool on which an appointing 
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authority can share, with other appointing authori-
ties and the Chief Human Capital Officers Council 
established under section 1303 of the Chief Human 
Capital Officers Act of 2002 (5 U.S.C. 1401 note; 
Public Law 107–296), the resumes of individuals 
who are on a certificate of eligibles requested by the 
appointing authority. In carrying out this para-
graph, the Director shall consult with the Chief 
Human Capital Officers Counsel and its membership 
to develop a plan to establish such online tool.’’. 
(2) PLAN.—Not later than 270 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall pro-
vide to Congress a plan to develop the online tool re-
quired in paragraph (5) of section 3318(b) of title 
5, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1) 
of this subsection. Such plan shall— 
(A) incorporate the input and feedback col-
lected during the required consultation under 
such paragraph; and 
(B) include estimated costs for building 
and operating the online tool. 
(b) MAXIMIZING SHARING OF APPLICANT INFORMA-
TION.—Section 2 of the Competitive Service Act of 2015 
(Public Law 114–137; 130 Stat. 310) is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 
subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(c) EXPLORING
THE BENEFITS
OF MAXIMIZING 
SHARING OF APPLICANT INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
‘‘(A) the terms ‘agency’, ‘Director’, and 
‘Office’ have the meanings given those terms in 
section 3304(c)(1) of title 5, United States 
Code; and 
‘‘(B) the term ‘competitive service’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 2102 of title 
5, United States Code. 
‘‘(2) MAXIMIZING
SHARING.—The 
Director 
shall maximize the sharing of information among 
agencies regarding qualified applicants for positions 
in the competitive service, including by— 
‘‘(A) providing for the delegation to other 
agencies of the authority of the Office to host 
multi-agency hiring actions to increase the re-
turn on investment on high-quality pooled an-
nouncements; and 
‘‘(B) sharing certificates of eligibles and 
accompanying re´sume´s for appointment.’’. 
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SEC. 5. MODERNIZING AND REFORMING THE ASSESSMENT 
AND HIRING OF FEDERAL JOB CANDIDATES. 
(a) OPM REVIEW.—The Director shall conduct a re-
view of all examinations for hiring for a position that the 
Office or any other examining agency has determined re-
quires a minimum educational requirement because the 
nature of the duties of such position is of a scientific, tech-
nical, or professional position pursuant to section 3308 of 
title 5, United States Code, to determine whether there 
are data, evidence, or other information that justifies the 
need for educational requirements for such position. The 
Director shall consult with appropriate agencies, employee 
representatives, external experts, and other stakeholders 
when making any such determinations. 
(b) ONLINE TOOL REGARDING POSITION DUTIES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than two years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 
shall create and maintain an online tool that lists 
each of the duties determined to require minimum 
educational requirements and the data, evidence, or 
other information that justifies the need for these 
educational requirements. This online tool shall in-
clude a mechanism to receive feedback regarding 
data, evidence, or information that could affect the 
determination that a duty requires a minimum edu-
cational requirement. 
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(2) HIRING
PRACTICES.—Not later than one 
year after the creation of the online tool under para-
graph (1), the Director and the head of any other 
examining agency shall amend the hiring practices 
of the Office or the other examining agency, respec-
tively, in accordance with the findings of the review 
made by subsection (a). 
(c) ONLINE TOOL REGARDING RECRUITING.—Upon 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall estab-
lish and maintain an online tool that provides Federal 
agencies guidance on, and information about, all programs 
and authorities that help agencies attract, recruit, hire, 
and retain individuals. 
SEC. 6. TALENT TEAMS. 
(a) FEDERAL AGENCY TALENT TEAMS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An agency may establish one 
or more talent teams (referred to in this section as 
‘‘agency talent teams’’), including at the component 
level. 
(2) DUTIES.—An agency talent team shall pro-
vide hiring support to the agency and other agencies, 
including by— 
(A) improving examinations (as defined in 
subsection (c)(1)(A) of section 3304 of title 5, 
United States Code, as added by section 3(a)); 
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(B) facilitating writing job announcements 
for the competitive service; 
(C) sharing high-quality certificates of eli-
gibles; and 
(D) facilitating hiring for the competitive 
service using examinations (as defined in such 
subsection (c)(1)(A)) and subject matter ex-
perts. 
(b) OFFICE
OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT.—The 
Director may establish a Federal talent team to support 
agency talent teams in facilitating pooled hiring actions 
across the Federal Government, providing training, and 
creating technology platforms to facilitate hiring for the 
competitive service, including— 
(1) the development of technical assessments; 
and 
(2) the sharing of certificates of eligibles and 
accompanying re´sume´s under sections 3318(b) and 
3319(c) of title 5, United States Code. 
SEC. 7. UPDATES TO SYSTEM OF RECORDS FOR HIRING AC-
TIONS IN THE CIVIL SERVICE. 
(a) UPDATE TO SELECT SYSTEM OF RECORDS.—Not 
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, and on a regular basis thereafter, the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget shall provide guidance 
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to all Federal departments and agencies to ensure appro-
priate use of a system of records, including any govern-
ment-wide systems of records, to meet the requirements 
of section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly 
known as the ‘‘Privacy Act’’), in hiring actions in the civil 
service. 
(b) GOVERNMENT-WIDE SYSTEMS OF RECORDS AT 
THE OFFICE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 
Personnel Management, in consultation with the Di-
rector of the Office of Management and Budget, 
shall ensure that any system of records notice up-
dates required pursuant to the guidance provided 
under subsection (a) account for any use of newer 
technologies that capture records (as defined in sec-
tion 552a(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code) in 
video, audio, and video/audio combination formats 
and accommodate maintenance of such video, audio, 
and video/audio combination records. 
(2) EVALUATION FOR POTENTIAL UPDATES OR 
REVISIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Di-
rector of the Office of Personnel Management 
shall evaluate whether the government-wide 
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System of Records Notices (referred to in this 
paragraph as ‘‘SORNs’’) ‘‘OPM/GOVT-5 Re-
cruiting, Examining, and Placement Records’’ 
and ‘‘OPM/GOVT-6 Personnel Research and 
Test Validation Records’’, or any successor ma-
terials thereto, require updating or revision to 
implement the purposes of this Act. 
(B) ISSUANCE OF UPDATES OR REVISIONS; 
NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—If the Director, after 
the evaluation under subparagraph (A), finds 
that any updates or revisions to the SORNs 
identified in that subparagraph are necessary 
and appropriate to support implementation of 
this Act, the Director shall promptly— 
(i) issue the updates or revisions; and 
(ii) notify the Committee on Home-
land Security and Governmental Affairs of 
the Senate and the Committee on Over-
sight and Accountability of the House of 
Representatives. 
Passed the House of Representatives January 24, 
2023. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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