,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hgjc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,october #cj1        
#bjbj,mr4 ,budd introduced the following
 bill2 which was referred to the        
,committee on ,oversight and ,reform  ,a
 ,,bill  ,to require the ,director of   
the ,office of ,personnel ,management to
 revise job classification and          
qualification standards for positions   
within the competitive service regarding
 educational requirements for such      
positions1 and for other purposes4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,federal ,skills ,act4  #b4         
,revision of job classification and     
qualification standards  7a7 ,in general
 ,the ,director of the ,office of       
,personnel ,management1 in consultation 
with the ,director of the ,office of    
,management and ,budget1 the ,assistant 
to the ,president for ,domestic ,policy1
 and the heads of agencies1 shall review
 and revise all job classification and  
qualification standards for positions   

within the competitive service1 as      
necessary and consistent with the       
requirements of this section4 ,any      
change to job classification and        
qualification standards shall be made   
available to the public not later than  
#abj days after the date of enactment of
 this ,act and go into effect not later 
than #ahj days after such date of       
enactment4  7b7 ,educational requirement
 ,an agency may prescribe a minimum     
educational requirement for employment  
in the ,federal competitive service only
 when a minimum educational             
qualification is legally required to    
perform the duties of the position in   
the ,state or locality where those      
duties are to be performed4  7c7        
,consideration of education ,unless an  
agency is determining a candidate's     
satisfaction of a legally required      
minimum educational requirement1 an     
agency may consider education in        
determining a candidate's satisfaction  
of some other minimum qualification only

 if the candidate's education directly  
reflects the competencies necessary to  
satisfy that qualification and perform  
the duties of the position4  7d7        
,position listing ,position descriptions
 and job postings published by agencies 
for positions within the competitive    
service should be based on the specific 
skills and competencies required to     
perform those jobs4  #c4 ,improving the 
use of assessments in the ,federal      
hiring process  7a7 ,in general ,the    
,director of the ,office of ,personnel  
,management shall work with the heads of
 all agencies to ensure that1 not later 
than #ahj days after the date of        
enactment of this ,act1 for positions   
within the competitive service1 agencies
 assess candidates in a manner that does
 not rely solely on educational         
attainment to determine the extent to   
which candidates possess relevant       
knowledge1 skills1 competencies1 and    
abilities4 ,the heads of all agencies   
shall develop or identify such          

assessment practices4  7b7              
,consideration of self-,evaluation ,in  
assessing candidates1 agencies may not  
rely solely on candidates'              
self-evaluations of their stated        
abilities4 ,applicants must clear other 
assessment hurdles in order to be       
certified for consideration4  7c7       
,evaluation ,agencies shall continually 
evaluate the effectiveness of different 
assessment strategies to promote and    
protect the quality and integrity of    
their hiring processes4  #d4            
,application  7a7 ,in general ,nothing  
in this ,act shall be construed to      
impair or otherwise affect-- 7#a7 the   
authority granted by law to an executive
 department or agency1 or the head      
thereof2 or  7#b7 the functions of the  
,director of the ,office of ,management 
and ,budget relating to budgetary1      
administrative1 or legislative          
proposals4  7b7 ,rights or benefits     
,this ,act is not intended to1 and does 
not1 create any right or benefit1       

substantive or procedural1 enforceable  
at law or in equity by any party against
 the ,united ,states1 its departments1  
agencies1 or entities1 its officers1    
employees1 or agents1 or any other      
person4  #e4 ,definitions ,in this      
,act-- 7#a7 the term assessment means   
any valid and reliable method of        
collecting information on an individual 
for the purposes of making a decision   
about qualification1 hiring1 placement1 
promotion1 referral1 or entry into      
programs leading to advancement2  7#b7  
the term competitive service has the    
meaning given that term in section #bajb
 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code2    
7#c7 the term education refers to ,post 
,high-,school ,education as that term is
 defined in the ,office of ,personnel   
,management ,general ,schedule          
,qualification ,policies2 and  7#d7 the 
term qualification means the minimum    
requirements necessary to perform work  
of a particular position or occupation  
successfully and safely4