Homeland Security Department Proposals: Scope of Personnel Flexibilities (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Aug. 30, 2002 |
| Report Number |
RL31548 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Thomas J. Nicola, American Law Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The proposal of President Bush to create a Department of Homeland Security by transferring
several
existing agencies has generated controversy, among other things, about the nature of the human
resources management system for the Department. The debate centers on the degree of flexibility
that should be granted to the new system to be able to respond to terrorist threats to the homeland.
H.R. 5005 , the Department of Homeland Security Act, as passed by the House on
July 26, 2002, creates the Department as an executive agency within the meaning of title 5 of the
United States Code, which codifies laws relating to government organization and employees. A
provision of H.R. 5005 , section 761, authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security,
notwithstanding any other provision of title 5, in regulations prescribed jointly with the Director of
the Office of Personnel Management, to establish, and from time to time adjust, a human resources
management system for some or all of the organizational units of the Department of Homeland
Security. The bill enumerates several chapters of title 5 that may not be waived, but those relating
to such matters as Performance Appraisal, Classification, Pay Rates and Systems,
Labor-Management and Employee Relations, Adverse Actions, and Appeals are eligible for waiver
or adjustment. Authority to establish and adjust a system is scheduled to expire five years after
enactment.
A substitute amendment to H.R. 5005 , the National Homeland Security and
Combating Terrorism Act of 2002, was filed in the Senate on August 1, 2002, after the Committee
on Governmental Affairs agreed to language offered by Chairman Joseph Lieberman. The
Lieberman substitute provides that the transfer of an employee to the Department of Homeland
Security shall not alter the terms and conditions of employment, including compensation, of any
employee so transferred.
While the Lieberman substitute amendment does not authorize the Secretary to adjust civil
service laws only for the Department of Homeland Security, it contains some provisions that amend
civil service laws for the entire government in relation to such matters as evaluating and appointing
applicants for federal employment and compensating some employees.
The Advisor to the President on Homeland Security has stated that he would advise the
President to veto the Lieberman substitute amendment in its current form if it should be presented
to the President for signature because, among other reasons, it does not provide sufficient personnel
flexibility with respect to appointing, evaluating, transferring, compensating, and terminating
employees that the President believes the Secretary of Homeland Security needs to protect the
homeland.
This report discusses human resources management issues addressed in H.R. 5005
as passed by the House and the Lieberman substitute amendment to H.R. 5005 , with
emphasis on the provisions of current law that may be subject to adjustment by the Secretary of
Homeland Security.
