A bill on the move defines acceptable job assessments used in competitive-service hiring. Image: Katherine Welles/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has approved for Senate floor voting S-59, to downplay the role of educational credentials in job qualifications and the role of self-evaluations in assessing federal job candidates.
The bill defines acceptable job assessments used in competitive-service hiring to include skills-based assessments; authorizes agencies to use subject-matter experts to administer skills-based assessments; allows agencies to share their applicant assessments; and directs agencies to have staff who specialize in supporting the development of skills-based assessments, improving examinations and otherwise carrying out the requirements.
The committee also approved:
* S-4495, to set standards for federal agency purchase and use of artificial intelligence, including a requirement to assess and address the risks of their AI uses before buying and deploying the technology.
* S-4715, to create an institute within the government to serve as a centralized resource and training center for personnel hired for cyber work roles, including new hires and personnel seeking transition to mid-career positions which may include upskilling and reskilling.
* S-4716, to incentivize DoD contractors to provide full cost data requested by including any failure to comply in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System , which may impact their ability to obtain future contracts.
* S-4630, to create an interagency committee to harmonize any duplicative or contradictory regulations and other compliance requirements issued by various federal entities with authority in the cybersecurity and information security area.
* S-4656, to make agency inspectors general and employees of those offices subject to the more restrictive version of the Hatch Act generally applying to employees in law enforcement and national security positions.
* HR-5527, to reauthorize the Technology Modernization Fund, increase its focus on replacing outdated federal agency IT including by creation of a “federal legacy IT inventory” to track results, and require agencies to report in more detail on their ability to repay the TMF before they could receive funding.
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