[Senate Report 110-466]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 971
110th Congress
2d Session SENATE Report
110-466
_______________________________________________________________________
TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF THE CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BY THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON
HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 2816
TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF THE CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BY THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
September 16, 2008.--Ordered to be printed
------
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2008
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii TED STEVENS, Alaska
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
BARACK OBAMA, Illinois PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri JOHN WARNER, Virginia
JON TESTER, Montana JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire
Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
Kevin J. Landy, Chief Counsel
Kenya N. Wiley, Counsel
Thomas J.R. Richards, Professional Staff Member, Subcommittee on
Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the
District of Columbia
Brandon L. Milhorn, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Amanda Wood, Minority Director of Governmental Affairs
Jennifer A. Hemingway, Minority Staff Director, Subcommittee on
Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the
District of Columbia
Tara L. Shaw, Minority Counsel, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government
Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 971
110th Congress Report
2d Session SENATE 110-466
======================================================================
TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF THE CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BY THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
_______
September 16, 2008.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Lieberman, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2816]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 2816) to provide
for the appointment of the Chief Human Capital Officer of the
Department of Homeland Security by the Secretary of Homeland
Security, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................1
III. Legislative History..............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................4
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5
I. Purpose and Summary
The purpose of S. 2816 is to provide for the appointment or
designation of the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) of the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by the Secretary of
Homeland Security, so the DHS CHCO would be selected in the
same manner as all other department and agency CHCOs.
II. Background and Need for the Legislation
The federal government's human capital management became a
concern when the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
included federal workforce management on its 2001 high-risk
list:
The government's approach to managing its people--its human
capital--is the critical missing link in reforming and
modernizing the federal government's management practices. Many
agencies are experiencing serious human capital challenges,
such as skills imbalances, succession planning challenges,
outdated performance management systems, and understaffing. The
combined effect of these challenges serves to place at risk the
ability of agencies to efficiently, economically, and
effectively accomplish their missions, manage critical
programs, and adequately serve the American people both now and
in the future. To a significant extent, serious management
challenges across a wide range of federal agencies, covering
programs that involve billions of federal expenditures, can be
attributed to shortcomings in how agencies manage their human
capital.\1\
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\1\ GAO, High Risk Series: An Update, GAO-01-263, January 1, 2001,
pp. 8-9.
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In that report, the GAO identified leadership continuity as
one of the human capital management challenges across the
federal government.\2\
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\2\ Id. p. 18.
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The Chief Human Capital Officers Act of 2002 was enacted as
part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to address the human
capital problems identified by the GAO and help the federal
government properly manage its workforce.\3\ To provide for the
leadership continuity called for by the GAO, the Chief Human
Capital Officers Act created CHCOs at the federal government's
24 largest departments and agencies to assist the heads of
agencies in selecting, developing, training, and managing a
high-quality, productive workforce and to implement the laws,
rules and regulations governing civil service within
agencies.\4\ The head of each of those departments and agencies
was given the authority to appoint or designate its agency's
CHCO.\5\ The Act also established an interagency CHCO Council
to advise and coordinate the personnel functions of each
agency.\6\ The legislation required that the Council be chaired
by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the
Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and
Budget.\7\
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\3\ Section 1302 of Public Law 107-296 (Nov. 25, 2002) (5 U.S.C.
Secs. 1401-1402); 148 Cong. Rec. S11182 (November 15, 2002) (statement
of Senator Voinovich).
\4\ 5 U.S.C. Sec. 1401; 31 U.S.C. Sec. 901(b).
\5\ Id.
\6\ Section 1303 of Public Law 107-296 (Nov. 25, 2002) (5 U.S.C.
Sec. 1401 note).
\7\ Id.
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The Homeland Security Act of 2002 also provided for the
Presidential appointment of a Secretary of Homeland Security
and other DHS officers.\8\ Among the officers required to be
appointed by the President is the DHS CHCO.\9\ The requirement
that the President appoint the DHS CHCO is unique, for each
head of the other federal agencies has the authority to appoint
or designate its agency's CHCO.\10\ Agency heads have varied in
appointing CHCOs who are political appointees as well as career
employees; in June of 2008, 11 agencies represented on the CHCO
Council had career employees filling the position.\11\
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\8\ 6 U.S.C. Sec. 112-113.
\9\ 6 U.S.C. Sec. 113(d)(3).
\10\ 5 U.S.C. Sec. 1401.
\11\ Susan Marshall, Office of Personnel Management Director,
Congressional Relations, email to Tara Shaw, September 8, 2008.
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S. 2816 would align the statutory appointment authority
relating to the DHS CHCO with the appointment authority
relating to other agency CHCOs by providing the Secretary of
Homeland Security with the authority to appoint or designate
the DHS CHCO.\12\
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\12\ 5 U.S.C. Sec. 1401; 31 U.S.C. Sec. 901(b).
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As noted by the GAO, sustained leadership is necessary to
help agencies address their human capital needs, and the
Committee believes that a long-term, stable CHCO is needed to
help select, train, and manage the workforce at DHS, where
approximately 180,000 employees were combined into a new entity
less than six years ago.\13\ However, there have been seven
CHCOs at DHS over the past five years.\14\ Three of those CHCOs
were Acting CHCOs who served as CHCO an average of two and one-
half months.\15\ This turnover highlights the need for the
Secretary of Homeland Security to have the authority and
flexibility to designate a career DHS CHCO who can remain at
DHS beyond the end of any given Presidential administration. In
the May 14, 2008, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee hearing to consider the nomination of Paul A.
Schneider to be Deputy Secretary of DHS, Mr. Schneider also
expressed support for allowing the Secretary of Homeland
Security to appoint or designate the DHS CHCO:
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\13\ GAO, High Risk Series: An Update, GAO-01-263, p. 18-19,
January 1, 2001; GAO, Organizational Transformation: Implementing Chief
Operating Officer/Chief Management Officer Positions in Federal
Agencies, GAO-08-322T, p. 8, December 13, 2007.
\14\ Jeffrey T. Readinger, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Director, Office of Legislative Affairs, e-mail to Tara Shaw, July 1,
2008.
\15\ Id.
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Being the chief human capital officer at the Department of
Homeland Security is probably one of the toughest human
resources or human capital positions in the federal government.
The fact that by law it's a political appointee means that, for
the most part, that person will leave on January 20th. You have
no idea how difficult it was for us to recruit the gentleman
that the president just announced to be the chief human capital
officer for what turns out to be the remaining seven months of
the administration. And the fact of the matter is one of the
biggest challenges we have in this department is human capital
. . . The challenges that we have in hiring, in professional
development, are probably unique in the federal government.
Having a career civil servant [as CHCO], especially, frankly,
at this point in time, where somebody could carry over to the
next administration, would be absolutely essential, I think, to
improve the management operations of the department, especially
in this very critical area.\16\
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\16\ Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Hearing To Consider the Nomination of: Paul A. Schneider to be Deputy
Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, May 14, 2008.
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III. Legislative History
S. 2816 was introduced by Senator Voinovich on April 3,
2008. The bill was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. S. 2816 was co-
sponsored by Senator Akaka and Senator Domenici.
On June 25, 2008, the Committee considered S. 2816. The
Committee ordered the bill favorably reported without amendment
by voice vote. Members present were Lieberman, Akaka, Carper,
Pryor, McCaskill, Collins, Coleman, Coburn, and Sununu.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Appointment of the Chief Human Capital Officer by the
Secretary of Homeland Security
This section amends section 103(d) of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 by striking paragraph (3) of that subsection, which
provides for the appointment of the DHS CHCO by the President,
and renumbering the remaining paragraphs.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirement of paragraph 11(b)(1) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill. The
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) states that there are no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and no costs on State, local, or
tribal governments. The legislation contains no other
regulatory impact.
VI. Estimated Cost of Legislation
June 27, 2008.
Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2816, a bill to
provide for the appointment of the Chief Human Capital Officer
of the Department of Homeland Security by the Secretary of
Homeland Security.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Peter R. Orszag,
Director.
Enclosure.
S. 2816--A bill to provide for the appointment of the Chief Human
Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security by the
Secretary of Homeland Security
Under current law, the Chief Human Capital Officer of the
Department of Homeland Security is appointed by the President.
S. 2816 would remove this Presidential authority, thus enabling
the Secretary of Homeland Security to appoint a person to this
position. CBO estimates that implementing S. 2816 would have no
significant costs to the federal government. Enacting the bill
would not affect direct spending or revenues.
S. 2816 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the following changes in existing
law made by the bill, as reported, are shown as follows:
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 6. DOMESTIC SECURITY
CHAPTER 1. HOMELAND SECURITY ORGANIZATION
SUBCHAPTER I. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
SEC. 113. OTHER OFFICERS.
* * * * * * *
(d) Other Officers.-- To assist the Secretary in the
performance of the Secretary's functions, there are the
following officers, appointed by the President:
(1) A Director of the Secret Service.
(2) A Chief Information Officer.
[(3) A Chief Human Capital Officer.]
[(4)] (3) An Officer for Civil Rights and Civil
Liberties.
[(5)] (4) A Director for Domestic Nuclear Detection.