Chance to Compete Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.6967 | Sponsor: Rep. Hice, Jody B. (R-GA)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Chance to Compete Act of 2022
This bill modifies examination requirements and other components of the federal hiring process for positions in the competitive service.
Specifically, the bill provides that a qualifying examination includes a résumé review that is conducted by a subject matter expert. Additionally, beginning two years after the bill's enactment, the bill prohibits examinations from consisting solely of a self-assessment from an automated examination, a résumé review that is not conducted by a subject matter expert, or any other method of assessing an applicant's experience or education; an agency may waive these requirements when necessary but must report any such waivers.
Agencies may use subject matter experts to develop position-specific technical assessments that allow applicants to demonstrate job-related skills, abilities, and knowledge; assessments may include structured interviews, work-related exercises, procedures to measure career-related qualifications and interests, or other similar assessments. The bill also allows agencies to establish talent teams to support and improve hiring practices.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must create online platforms through which agencies may share and customize technical assessments and share the résumés of qualifying applicants. The OPM must also create online platforms with information about (1) the types of assessments used and hiring outcomes, (2) educational requirements for certain positions and related justifications, and (3) authorities and programs that support agency recruitment and retention.

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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Chance to Compete Act of 2022''.

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 matter expert'', and ``technical assessment'' 
have the meanings 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 ``competitive service'' has 
the meaning given the term in section 2102 of title 5, United States 
Code.

SEC. 3. DEFINING THE TERM ``EXAMINATION'' FOR PURPOSES 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), respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the 
                following:
    ``(c) Examinations.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--
                    ``(A) Examination.--
                            ``(i) In this chapter, the term 
                        `examination'--
                                    ``(I) means an opportunity to 
                                directly demonstrate knowledge, skills, 
                                abilities, and competencies, through an 
                                assessment;
                                    ``(II) includes a resume 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 2022, 
                                does not include a self-assessment from 
                                an automated examination, a resume 
                                review (except as provided in subclause 
                                (II)), or any other method of 
                                determining the experience or level of 
                                educational attainment of an 
                                individual, alone.
                            ``(ii)(I) An agency's Chief Human Capital 
                        Officer may waive clause (i)(III) if the 
                        Officer provides a written report to the 
                        Director of the Office of Personnel Management 
                        within 30 days of authorizing the waiver that 
                        justifies the need for such waiver and 
                        articulates the data, evidence, and 
                        circumstances for such need.
                            ``(II) The Director is authorized to 
                        provide agencies guidance and instruction on 
                        the data, evidence, and circumstances that 
                        should be included in the waiver described in 
                        subclause (I) and shall post any waiver on a 
                        public website within 30 days of receipt of the 
                        waiver.
                            ``(III) A waiver shall not be considered in 
                        effect until it is posted on the public website 
                        pursuant to subclause (II).
                    ``(B) Other definitions.--In this subsection--
                            ``(i) the term `agency' means an agency 
                        described in section 901(b) of title 31;
                            ``(ii) the term `Director' means the 
                        Director of the Office;
                            ``(iii) the term `examining agency' means--
                                    ``(I) the Office; or
                                    ``(II) an agency to which the 
                                Director has delegated examining 
                                authority under section 1104(a)(2) of 
                                this title;
                            ``(iv) the term `subject matter expert' 
                        means an employee or selecting official--
                                    ``(I) who possesses understanding 
                                of the duties of, and knowledge, 
                                skills, and abilities required for, the 
                                position for which the employee or 
                                selecting official is developing or 
                                administering an assessment; and
                                    ``(II) whom the agency that employs 
                                the employee or selecting official 
                                designates to assist in the development 
                                and administration of technical 
                                assessments under paragraph (2); and
                            ``(v) 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 position 
                                for which the assessment is developed; 
                                and
                                    ``(III) may include--
                                            ``(aa) a structured 
                                        interview;
                                            ``(bb) a work-related 
                                        exercise;
                                            ``(cc) a custom or generic 
                                        procedure used to measure an 
                                        individual's employment or 
                                        career-related qualifications 
                                        and interests; or
                                            ``(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 expertise 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 examining agency, a 
                        position-specific assessment that is relevant 
                        to the position; and
                            ``(ii) administer the assessment developed 
                        under clause (i) to--
                                    ``(I) determine whether an 
                                applicant for the position has 
                                demonstrated qualification for the 
                                position; or
                                    ``(II) rank applicants for the 
                                position for category rating purposes 
                                under section 3319.
                    ``(B) Sharing and customization of assessments.--
                            ``(i) Sharing.--An examining agency may 
                        share a technical assessment with another 
                        examining agency if each agency maintains 
                        appropriate control over examination 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 successor 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 
                                assessments under this subparagraph.
                                    ``(II) Online platform.--The 
                                Director shall--
                                            ``(aa) not be responsible 
                                        for independently validating 
                                        the utility of the content and 
                                        technical assessments shared in 
                                        the online platform described 
                                        in subclause (I); and
                                            ``(bb) ensure that such 
                                        online platform includes the 
                                        ability of its users to rate 
                                        the utility of the content and 
                                        technical assessments shared in 
                                        the online platform to allow 
                                        for a ranking of such contents.
            ``(3) Regulations.--Not later than one year after the date 
        of enactment of the Chance to Compete Act of 2022, the Office 
        of Personnel Management shall prescribe regulations necessary 
        for the administration of this subsection with respect to 
        employees 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 required to 
        have passed an examination in accordance with section 3304(b), 
        subject to the exceptions in that section.''.
            (3) Technical and conforming amendment.--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) OPM Reporting.--
            (1) Public online tool.--
                    (A) In general.--The Director of the Office of 
                Personnel Management shall maintain and periodically 
                update a publicly available online tool that, with 
                respect to each position in the competitive service for 
                which an examining agency examined applicants during 
                the applicable period, includes--
                            (i) the type of assessment used, such as--
                                    (I) a behavioral off-the-shelf 
                                assessment;
                                    (II) a resume review conducted by a 
                                subject matter expert;
                                    (III) an interview conducted by a 
                                subject matter expert;
                                    (IV) a technical off-the-shelf 
                                assessment; 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 online tool described 
                        in subparagraph (A) with data for positions in 
                        the competitive service for which an examining 
                        agency examined applicants during the period 
                        beginning 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 beginning 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 applicants during the preceding 
                        fiscal year.
            (2) Annual progress report.--
                    (A) In general.--Each year, the Director, in 
                accordance with subparagraphs (B) and (C), shall make 
                publicly available and submit to Congress an overall 
                progress report that includes 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.
                    (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 appropriate; 
                        and
                            (ii) use the data available as of October 
                        1, 2020, as a baseline.
                    (C) Limitations.--In carrying out subparagraph (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 completed.
    (c) 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;
            (2) assesses the impact and modifications to the hiring 
        process for the competitive service made by this section and 
        the amendments made by this section; and
            (3) makes recommendations for the improvement of the hiring 
        process for the competitive service.

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 resumes of individuals on 
        certificates of eligibles.--Not later than one year after the 
        date of enactment of the Chance to Compete Act of 2022, the 
        Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall establish 
        and operate an online tool on which an appointing authority can 
        share, with other appointing authorities 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 paragraph, 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 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Director shall provide to Congress a 
        plan to develop the online tool required 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 collected 
                during the required consultation under such paragraph; 
                and
                    (B) include estimated costs for building and 
                operating the online tool for ten years.
    (b) Maximizing Sharing of Applicant Information.--Section 2 of the 
Competitive Service Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-137; 130 Stat. 310) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections 
        (d) and (e), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(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 research the 
        benefits of maximizing 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 return on 
                investment on high-quality pooled announcements; and
                    ``(B) sharing certificates of eligibles and 
                accompanying resumes for appointment.''.
    (c) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Director shall provide a written report to Congress on 
the findings of the research required by the amendment made by 
subsection (b)(2). Such report shall include a plan to implement the 
most effective methods of maximizing the sharing of qualified 
candidates for positions in the competitive service.

SEC. 5. MODERNIZING AND REFORMING THE ASSESSMENT AND HIRING OF FEDERAL 
              JOB CANDIDATES.

    (a) OPM Review.--The Director shall conduct a review of all 
examinations for hiring for a position that the Office or any other 
examining agency has determined requires a minimum educational 
requirement because of the nature of the duties of such position is of 
a scientific, technical, 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 include 
        a mechanism to receive feedback regarding data, evidence, or 
        information that could affect the determination that a duty 
        requires a minimum educational requirement.
            (2) Hiring practices.--Not later than one year after the 
        creation of the online tool under paragraph (1), the Director 
        and the head of any other examining agency shall amend the 
        hiring practices of the Office or the other examining agency, 
        respectively, 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 establish 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 provide 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));
                    (B) facilitating writing job announcements for the 
                competitive service;
                    (C) sharing high-quality certificates of eligibles; 
                and
                    (D) facilitating hiring for the competitive service 
                using examinations (as defined in such subsection 
                (c)(1)(A)) and subject matter experts.
    (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 resumes under sections 3318(b) and 3319(c) of 
        title 5, United States Code.

SEC. 7. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 29, 2022.

            Attest:

                                             CHERYL L. JOHNSON,

                                                                 Clerk.