Human Capital: Preliminary Observations on the Administration's Draft Proposed "Working for America Act"

The federal government must have the capacity to plan more strategically, react more expeditiously, and focus on achieving results. Critical to the success of this transformation are the federal government's people--its human capital. We have commended the progress that has been made in addressing human capital challenges in the last few years. Still, significant opportunities exist to improve strategic human capital management to respond to current and emerging 21st century challenges. A key question, for example, is how to update the federal government's classification and compensation systems to be more market-based and performance-oriented. The Administration's draft proposed "Working for America Act" is intended to ensure that agencies are equipped to better manage, develop, and reward their employees. Under this proposal, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is to design a new core classification and pay system, among other things. In addition, the draft proposal amends some provisions of Title 5 covering labor management relations and adverse actions and appeals. This testimony presents preliminary observations on the draft proposal; presents the principles, criteria, and processes for human capital reform; and suggests next steps for selected and targeted actions.