TOM DEYULIA, Staff Director ROBERT E. LOCKHART, General Counsel PATRICIA F. RISSLER, Deputy Staff Director and Chief Clerk MORRIS K. UDALL, Arizona KATIE HALL, Indiana SUBCOMMITTEE ON CIVIL SERVICE PATRICIA SCHROEDER, Colorado, Chairwoman CHARLES PASHAYAN, JR., California GERRY SIKORSKI, Minnesota ANDREW FEINSTEIN, Subcommittee Staff Director (II) CONTENTS Donald J. Devine, Director of the Office of Personnel Management. Ronald Haughton, Chairman of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, accompanied by Hank Frazier, Authority member; John Miller, Gener- al Counsel of the Authority; and Jessie Rubin, Deputy General Counsel Ken Blaylock, National President of the American Federation of Govern- James Peirce, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees. Richard Strombotne, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Senior Exeuctives Association, accompanied by G. Jerry Shaw, General Coun- sel of the Senior Executives Association... Robert L. White, president of the National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees, presented by James McGee, first vice president of the Na- tional Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees, accompanied by John- nie Landon, legislative counsel of the alliance, and Jacquelyn Tollett, legislative director of the alliance..... Steven C. King, executive director of the Federal Executive and Profes- sional Association, accompanied by Richard Pelz, president-elect of the Herbert E. Ellingwood, Chairman, Merit Systems Protection Board, ac- companied by Ersa H. Poston, Vice Chair, and Dennis M. Devaney, K. William O'Connor, Special Counsel, Merit Systems Protection Board. Clarence Thomas, Chairman, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Com- mission, accompanied by Robbix Dix, Director of Appeals and Program Division of the Office of Review and Appeals, and Douglas Bielan, Director of Public Sector Programs. Thomas S. McFee, Assistant Secretary for Personnel Administration; Mi- chael Rudd, Assistant Deputy Administrator for Personnel and Labor Relations, Veterans' Administration; and Raymond J. Sumser, Director of Civilian Personnel, Department of the Army Hon. Geraldine Ferraro, a Representative from the State of New York. Bun Bray, Jr., executive director, Federal Managers Association, accom- Mildred Goodman, president, Blacks in Government, accompanied by Ruby Fields, national secretary, Blacks in Government Tom Devine, legal director for government accountability project, Insti- tute for Policy Studies, accompanied by Ernest Hadley, legal intern, "Study of Approaches to Federal Pay," Office of Personnel Management... "A Statistical Profile of the Federal Civilian Work Force," Office of Informational material included-Continued "Reductions in Force in the SES," Senior Executives Association.... "Significant Actions of the Office of Personnel Management, 1981," Merit "Survey of Senior Executive Service Members," Department of Health "Survey of Civilian Personnel Management," Department of the Army "Delegated Examining Agreement," Department of the Army Response to written questions from: Office of Personnel Management. Federal Labor Relations Authority.. Merit Systems Protection Board Special Counsel, Merit Systems Protection Board. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Department of Health and Human Services Veterans' Administration. Department of the Army. Page 302 332 386 526 594 598 602 65 191 368 499 521 553 571 589 CIVIL SERVICE OVERSIGHT WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 1983 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 9:30 a.m., in room 311, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Patricia Schroeder, presiding. Mrs. SCHROEDER. I would like to begin the hearing and welcome everyone to the first of 2 days of hearings on the state of the civil service at its hundredth birthday. On January 17, 1883, President Chester A. Arthur, signed the Pendleton Act, mandating competitive appointments to the Federal service. This law was enacted about 18 months after James A Garfield, the President of the United States, was shot in a railroad station by a disappointed office seeker. At that time it was decided to the victor belongs the spoils was not the way to run the Federal Government, that we needed competitive service and merit service and people who had all sorts of professional skills. The civil service has grown in the last 100 years in the terms of the numbers of employees covered, in the terms of the independence from the political process, and I think also in the number of skills that are needed. Obviously, a hundred years ago we didn't have NIH, and we didn't have NASA and we didn't have all sorts of things that require the technical skills that are required today, so it's even more essential today. Lately, the Reagan administration has suggested that the best way to end public hostility to Federal workers is to limit their pay benefits and rights, and to accomplish this, the Office of Personnel Management has sent in dozens of proposals which would remake all sorts of parts of the civil service system. This comes as no surprise to anyone in this room because I know you're all well aware of what some of the approaches to the civil service system has been. And I think that they're very concerned, as I am, about the credibility of the civil service system on its birthday, making sure that the system is still sound, and that we can move forward and continue the grand tradition and the great tradition that has gone on in the past. These initial hearings are necessarily broad gauged. We've already scheduled hearings a month from now on Hatch Act reform. We will be doing hearings in the summer and fall on the Senior (1) Executive Service. We will be working on our productivity legislation and consider other worthwhile legislation. Today and tomorrow's hearings, will provide the general framework that we will need as we continue our effort to secure the best quality of Government service at the lowest price to the taxpayer. So, we're very pleased to proceed this morning. Do any of the gentlemen want to add anything? Mrs. SCHROEDER. I think with that then, since we originally were not going into session until 3 o'clock and they've now moved it up to 10 o'clock and put the social security reform package on, we're really moving under a lot of pressure, so we want to welcome our first witness this morning, who is Dr. Donald J. Devine, Director of the Office of Personnel Management. STATEMENT OF DR. DONALD J. DEVINE, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Dr. DEVINE. Thank you very much, Madame Chairman. I'm pleased to have the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the activities of the Office of Personnel Management. During the past year and during my time at OPM, we tried to give major attention to two areas which we view as major responsibilities of our agency, protecting the integrity of the personnel system, and restructuring the personnel system to maximize the performance potential of Federal employees. Upholding the integrity of a personnel system as large as the Federal Government is a difficult and complex task. Merit standards must not be compromised and employee rights need to be protected. For this reason we've worked to insure the proper application of civil service laws, rules and regulations. Within this framework of enduring merit principles, we are working to maximize the performance potential of Federal employees. This is a goal we must achieve for the benefit of both the American public and Federal employees. In this centennial year of the civil service system there is a widespread lack of public confidence in Government. If we are serious about changing the negative perception, we must make real changes and work to reform the system. As I've said many times before, the problems with the Federal Government are not caused by Federal employees. Our employees are generally dedicated and hard working. They constitute a skilled and well-educated work force. However, they're forced to work within a static system plagued by disincentives, a system which stifles initiative and which fails to reward good performance. We need to establish a work climate which encourages excellence, a work climate which encourages efficient and effective perform ance. Such a climate will inevitably result in higher levels of productivity, higher employee morale and a restoration of a public confidence that Federal employees need and deserve, so that we can move the civil service into its second 100 years. |