Number: 110-25
Date: June 9, 2008

House Passes H.R. 3774, the Senior Executive Service Diversity Assurance Act

On June 3, 2008, by voice vote the House passed H.R. 3774, the Senior Executive Service Diversity Act. The legislation would require Federal agencies, including SSA, to provide greater diversity within the Senior Executive Service (SES). The bill contains the following provisions of interest to SSA:

•  Would require the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish the SES Resource Office within 180 days of enactment.

•  Would require each Federal agency to provide to OPM annual statistics on: the total number of career reserved positions; the total number of vacant career reserved positions; the number of candidates being sought for vacant career reserved positions; the number of individuals who have been certified in accordance with existing law regarding career appointments; the composition of SES with regard to race, ethnicity, sex, age and individuals with disabilities; the composition of executive resources boards with regard to race, ethnicity, sex, and individuals with disabilities; and the composition of qualifications review boards with regard to race, ethnicity, sex, and individuals with disabilities.

•  Would require the SES Resource Office to make such annual statistics accessible to the public through a website. It would also allow the Office, when it makes statistics publicly available, to combine data for certain smaller agencies to protect personally identifiable information.

•  Would require that each Federal agency, to the extent practicable, ensure diversity of representation on its executive resource and qualification review boards by including members of racial and ethnic minority groups, women, and people with disabilities.

•  Would require each Federal agency to submit to OPM a plan to improve opportunities for the advancement and appointment of minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities to the SES within 1 year after enactment. Agency plans would address how the agency is identifying and eliminating barriers to obtaining SES appointments and the actions the agency is taking to provide advancement opportunities. Plans would be required to be updated at least every 2 years during the 10-year period following enactment.

•  Would be effective upon enactment.