,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bbbe  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #bd1     
#bjba,mr4 ,rubio introduced the         
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,homeland
 ,security and ,governmental ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to require the ,director of 
the ,office of ,personnel ,management to
 revise job classification and          
qualification standards for positions in
 the competitive service regarding      
educational requirements for those      
positions1 and for other purposes4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,federal ,skills ,act4  #b4         
,definitions ,in this ,act-- 7#a7 the   
term agency means an agency that        
appoints individuals to positions in the
 competitive service2  7#b7 the term    
competitive service has the meaning     
given the term in section #bajb of title
 #e1 ,united ,states ,code2  7#c7 the   
term ,director means the ,director of   
the ,office of ,personnel ,management2  

7#d7 the term education means the       
completion or attainment of a           
postsecondary degree or other credential
 at an institution of higher education  
7as defined in section #ajb of the      
,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj   
,u4,s4,c4 #ajjb772  7#e7 the term       
personnel assessment means a method of  
collecting information regarding an     
individual for the purposes of making a 
selection decision with respect to the  
individual2  7#f7 the term qualification
 standards means the minimum            
requirements with respect to education1 
training1 and experience that an        
applicant for employment would need to  
possess in order to make it likely that 
the applicant would perform             
satisfactorily in the position or       
occupational series that is the subject 
of the application for employment2 and  
7#g7 the term selection decision        
includes a decision regarding an        
individual with respect to-- 7,a7       
appointment2  7,b7 placement2  7,c7     

promotion2  7,d7 referral2  7,e7        
retention2 or  7,f7 entry into a program
 leading to career advancement1 such as 
an apprenticeship program1 a training   
program1 or a career development        
program4  #c4 ,revision of job          
classification and qualification        
standards  7a7 ,review  7#a7 ,in general
 ,consistent with the requirements of   
this section1 the ,director1 in         
consultation with the ,director of the  
,office of ,management and ,budget and  
the head of each agency1 shall review   
and revise all job classification and   
qualification standards for positions in
 the competitive service1 as necessary4 
7#b7 ,publication2 effective date ,with 
respect to any change to a job          
classification or qualification standard
 made under paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 the   
,director shall1 not later than #abj    
days after the date of enactment of this
 ,act1 make that change available to the
 public2 and  7,b7 the change shall take
 effect not later than #ahj days after  

the date of enactment of this ,act4  7b7
 ,education requirement ,the head of an 
agency may prescribe a minimum          
requirement with respect to education   
for a position in the competitive       
service only if a minimum qualification 
with respect to education is legally    
required to perform the duties of a     
comparable position in the ,state or    
locality where those duties are to be   
performed4  7c7 ,consideration of       
education ,unless the head of an agency 
is determining the satisfaction of a    
legally required minimum requirement    
with respect to education for an        
applicant for employment with the       
agency1 the agency head may consider the
 education of the applicant in          
determining the satisfaction by the     
applicant of another minimum            
qualification only if the education of  
the applicant directly reflects the     
competencies necessary to satisfy that  
qualification and perform the duties of 
the position4  7d7 ,position listing ,a 

position description and job posting    
published by an agency for a position in
 the competitive service shall be based 
on the specific skills and competencies 
required to perform that position1 as   
established in the position             
classifications and qualification       
standards of the ,office of ,personnel  
,management4  #d4 ,improving the use of 
assessments in the ,federal hiring      
process  7a7 ,in general ,the ,director 
shall work with the head of each agency 
to ensure that1 not later than #ahj days
 after the date of enactment of this    
,act1 for a position in the competitive 
service1 the head of an agency assesses 
an applicant for employment in a manner 
that does not rely solely on the        
education of the applicant to determine 
the extent to which the applicant       
possesses relevant knowledge1 skills1   
competencies1 and abilities for the     
position4  7b7 ,other requirements ,with
 respect to the assessment practices    
described in subsection 7a7-- 7#a7 the  

head of each agency shall develop or    
identify those assessment practices2 and
  7#b7 those assessment practices-- 7,a7
 may not be substantively equivalent to 
competencies only attainable through    
education2 and  7,b7 shall be published 
by the applicable agency in the human   
resources manual of the agency4  7c7    
,consideration of self-,evaluation  7#a7
 ,in general ,in assessing an applicant 
for employment-- 7,a7 the head of an    
agency may not rely solely on the       
self-evaluation of the stated abilities 
of the applicant2 and  7,b7 the         
applicant shall fulfill other assessment
 standards in order to be certified for 
consideration1 as established by the    
,chief ,human ,capital ,officer of the  
applicable agency 7or an equivalent     
official74  7#b7 ,publication ,the      
standards described in paragraph        
7#a77;,b7 shall be published in the     
human resources manual of the applicable
 agency4  7d7 ,evaluation ,the head of  
each agency shall continually evaluate  

the effectiveness of different          
assessment strategies to promote and    
protect the quality and integrity of the
 appointment processes of the agency1   
which shall be reviewed by the ,chief   
,human ,capital ,officer of the agency  
7or an equivalent official71 who shall  
make any necessary changes or take any  
necessary remedial actions concurrent   
with the review4  #e4 ,application  7a7 
,in general ,nothing in this ,act may 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  #f4 ,rule of construction
 ,nothing in this ,act may be construed 
to eliminate or otherwise affect the    
student loan forgiveness or student loan
 cancellation options available to      
borrowers under ,federal law1 as such   
options are in effect on the day before 
the date of enactment of this ,act4