Two recent reports have criticized awards practices for senior executives, with a report from a Senate governmental affairs subcommittee concluding that although SES members make up just 1 percent of the federal workforce, they receive 4 percent of the bonuses awarded. Over 2008-2011 the total came to some $340 million, rising in both the number of awards and the value, with 81 percent of execs receiving a bonus in 2011. The large majority were ratings-based cash awards; some agencies including GSA, Labor, National Science Foundation and the Navy averaged more than one performance award per SES member in 2011. Meanwhile, the GSA separately reported that many of the bonuses given there in the same period were not properly scrutinized beforehand and/or were given for dubious reasons such as running effective meetings and seeking feedback from others. Also, OPM has invited agencies to submit nominees for the SES Presidential Rank Award, a top recognition that brings a bonus award of up to 35 percent of salary. However, OPM warned that "the current budgetary climate may unfortunately constrain the ability to provide monetary awards such as these in some or all cases." A recently introduced Senate bill (S-986) meanwhile would bar SES bonuses during a sequestration period.
