Strengthening the Office of Personnel Management Act
Bill: H.R.6066 | Sponsor: Rep. Connolly, Gerald E. (D-VA)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Strengthening the Office of Personnel Management Act
This bill provides statutory authority for the mission of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), establishes the Chief Management Officer and the OPM Advisory Committee on Human Capital Management, and specifies additional requirements for the appointment of the OPM Director and the removal of the OPM Director or Deputy Director.

To amend title 5, United States Code, to reaffirm the role of the 
    Office of Personnel Management as the leader for civilian human 
resource management in the Federal Government, to encourage innovation 
in the Office's management of human capital, to strengthen the Office's 
  ability to support Federal human capital management as a strategic 
                   priority, 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 ``Strengthening the Office of 
Personnel Management Act''.

SEC. 2. ROLE AND MISSION OF OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT.

    Section 1101 of title 5, United States, Code is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Office of Personnel Management'' and 
        inserting ``(a) Establishment.--The Office of Personnel 
        Management''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Mission.--The Office of Personnel Management shall lead the 
Federal Government in enterprise strategic human resources management, 
ensure the proper application of merit system principles for all 
Federal civilian human resource systems and employees, and carry out 
the policies set forth in section 3 of the Civil Service Reform Act of 
1978 (Public Law 95-454). In addition, the Office of Personnel 
Management shall--
            ``(1) function as an independent human capital agency for 
        Federal civilian personnel systems, employees, and annuitants;
            ``(2) structure as a streamlined, customer-focused 
        organization to effectively and efficiently execute its mission 
        priorities;
            ``(3) provide Government-wide leadership and facilitate 
        appropriate and efficient access to human capital data and 
        systems to support strategic Government-wide human capital 
        management;
            ``(4) use information technology and data, data analytics, 
        and predictive analytics to inform decision making, identify 
        best practices and drive innovation;
            ``(5) develop both current and forward-looking approaches 
        for human resource management;
            ``(6) establish and maintain an efficient, risk-based, 
        data-driven oversight program in support of merit systems 
        principles; and
            ``(7) promote staff capacity-building to support a 
        competent and diverse workforce, consistent with the 
        requirements of chapter 41 of this title.''.

SEC. 3. QUALIFICATIONS OF OPM DIRECTOR.

    Chapter 11 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in section 1102--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by adding at the end after 
                the period the following: ``The individual appointed as 
                Director shall be appointed without regard to political 
                affiliation and have demonstrated human capital 
                expertise and management and leadership experience.''; 
                and
                    (B) by adding after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) An individual serving as Director or Deputy Director may be 
removed from office by the President only if the reasons for such 
removal are specifically set forth in a written statement submitted to 
the Committee on Oversight and Reform in the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in the 
Senate. The President shall communicate in writing the reasons for any 
such removal to both Houses of Congress not later than 30 days before 
the removal.''; and
            (2) in section 1103(a) by--
                    (A) redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (12);
                    (B) striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (8); 
                and
                    (C) inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
            ``(9) serving as the principal advisor to the President on 
        Federal human capital policies and leading Federal civilian 
        human capital efforts to attract and retain the optimal Federal 
        workforce;
            ``(10) establishing a framework for Federal agency 
        workforce management and working with stakeholders to develop 
        policies that foster best practices in all human capital areas;
            ``(11) setting standards of practice and working 
        collaboratively across the Federal human capital community; 
        and''.

SEC. 4. OPM CHIEF MANAGEMENT OFFICER.

    (a) In General.--Section 1102 of title 5, United States Code, as 
amended by section 3, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(f)(1) There is established within the Office of Personnel 
Management the position of Chief Management Officer. Such position 
shall be filled by a member of the Senior Executive Service in a 
designated career reserved position. The Director shall establish and 
appoint an individual to occupy such position not later than 90 days 
after the date of enactment of the Strengthening the Office of 
Personnel Management Act.
    ``(2) Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the 
Director, the Chief Management Officer shall perform such duties and 
exercise such powers as the Director may prescribe, including--
            ``(A) assisting the Director and Deputy Director to provide 
        continuity, strengthen internal agency organization and 
        management, promoting the mission and strategic goals of the 
        Office, and improving Office performance;
            ``(B) serving as the principal advisor to the Director on 
        all operations, activities, and programs in the Office;
            ``(C) directing the associate Directors, program divisions, 
        and support functions of the Office on matters for which the 
        Chief Management Officer has responsibility;
            ``(D) establishing processes for supervising operations of 
        the Office, including planning and processes, performance 
        management, information technology management, and unifying 
        management efforts across the Office;
            ``(E) aligning human resources policies and programs of the 
        Office with the organization mission, goals and performance 
        outcomes;
            ``(F) developing a culture of continuous learning and 
        positive employee engagement within the Office to attract and 
        retain employees; and
            ``(G) identifying leading practices and benchmarks relevant 
        to the Officer's areas of responsibility.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendments.--
            (1) Section heading.--The section heading for section 1102 
        of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding after 
        ``Associate Directors'' the following: ``; Chief Management 
        Officer''.
            (2) Table of sections.--The table of sections for chapter 
        11 of such title is amended by striking the item relating to 
        section 1102 and inserting the following:

``1102. Director; Deputy Director; Associate Directors; Chief 
                            Management Officer.''.

SEC. 5. OPM ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 11 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1106. OPM Advisory Committee on Human Capital Management
    ``(a) Establishment.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of the Strengthening the Office of Personnel 
        Management Act, the Director of the Office of Personnel 
        Management (in this section referred to as the `Director') 
        shall establish within the Office an advisory committee to be 
        known as the `OPM Advisory Committee on Human Capital 
        Management' (in this section referred to as the `Advisory 
        Committee').
            ``(2) Duties.--The Advisory Committee shall advise and 
        provide information and recommendations to the Director on--
                    ``(A) strategies for making the Federal Government 
                an employer of choice and model employer;
                    ``(B) approaches for recruiting, hiring, and 
                retaining people with needed skills to improve Federal 
                services; and
                    ``(C) programs and initiatives to build and support 
                a diverse, trusted, and effective Federal workforce.
    ``(b) Membership.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Appointment.--The Director shall appoint not 
                more than 15 members, excluding ex officio members in 
                paragraph (2), to the Advisory Committee.
                    ``(B) Representation.--The Director shall ensure 
                that individuals appointed as members of the Advisory 
                Committee shall possess knowledge and experience in 
                human capital management and have experience in at 
                least one of the following categories:
                            ``(i) Public sector or governmental 
                        organizations, including global public sector 
                        human resource professionals.
                            ``(ii) Nonprofit organizations, including 
                        labor unions.
                            ``(iii) Private sector organizations.
                            ``(iv) Academia.
                            ``(v) Federal employee, retiree, and labor 
                        organizations, including organizations that 
                        represent substantial numbers of Federal 
                        employees occupying General Schedule positions.
                            ``(vi) Chief Human Capital Officers or 
                        other members from Federal agency human 
                        resource offices.
            ``(2) Ex officio members.--The following positions shall 
        serve as ex officio members of the Advisory Committee: the 
        Director, the Deputy Director, any Associate Director, the 
        Chief Management Officer, the Chief Diversity, Equity, 
        Inclusion and Accessibility Officer, the Chief Human Capital 
        Officers Council Executive Director, and other Federal 
        officials at the discretion of the Director.
    ``(c) Administrative Provisions.--
            ``(1) Meetings.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Advisory Committee shall 
                meet at least two times per year, with additional 
                meetings as required.
                    ``(B) Opportunity for public comment.--Each meeting 
                shall include, at a minimum, opportunity for public 
                comment during the Advisory Committee's deliberations.
            ``(2) Bylaws.--At the first meeting of the Advisory 
        Committee, the members shall select a chairperson and vice 
        chairperson. The Advisory Committee's bylaws shall be 
        established by the chairperson and vice chairperson and shall 
        be submitted to the members for unanimous approval by the 
        members.
            ``(3) Quorum.--Seven members of the Advisory Committee 
        shall constitute a quorum.
            ``(4) Decisions and recommendations by consensus.--All 
        decisions, activities, findings, and recommendations of the 
        Advisory Committee shall be made by consensus of the members of 
        the Advisory Committee.
    ``(d) Annual Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
first meeting of the Advisory Committee and annually thereafter, the 
Advisory Committee shall submit an annual report to the Director, the 
Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives, and 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate. The Director shall make the report available online on a 
publicly accessible website. The report shall contain--
            ``(1) a detailed summary of the agenda and activities of, 
        and the findings and recommendations made by, the Advisory 
        Committee during the previous year;
            ``(2) if applicable, any agency actions taken to address 
        the findings and recommendations made by the Advisory 
        Committee; and
            ``(3) a detailed list of subjects and areas of interest 
        that the Advisory Committee plans to examine in the next 
        year.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for such chapter 11 
is amended by adding after the item relating to section 1105 the 
following:

``1106. OPM Advisory Committee on Human Capital Management.''.
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