Congressional Testimony
110th Congress
The Partnership Makes Recommendations on Recruiting and Hiring New Talent
On May 8, 2008, Partnership President Max Stier testified before the Senate Oversight of Government Management Subcommittee on how the federal government can effectively recruit and hire the next generation of federal employees. Among his recommendations, Stier suggested agencies adopt an "applicants' bill of rights" that would promise a user-friendly application process. He asked Congress to require agencies to re-evaluate the process by which they assess applicants. Stier also urged Congress to require that agencies create a system of metrics to gage the effectiveness of federal recruiting, an essential tool for effective oversight.
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The Partnership Testifies before the Senate Special Committee on Aging
On April 30, 2008, Partnership President Max Stier testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging on efforts to recruit and retain older workers in the federal government. Stier highlighted key research findings from the Partnership's Golden Opportunity report and discussed the recently launch FedExperience Transitions to Government Pilot Program with the Department of Treasury and IBM. Stier argued that there is an appetite among older workers to work longer and to participate in interesting and meaningful work. In particular, a high percentage of older workers are interested in federal service. This pairs nicely with the fact that older Americans, whose skills align well with government's most pressing talent needs, make attractive candidates to fill government's many critical vacancies.
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The Partnership Weighs in on Pay for Performance
On February 12, 2008, Partnership for Public Service President and CEO Max Stier testified before the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia about the Bush administration’s pay for performance policies. Stier focused on how to use pay as an incentive to create a higher performing work environment in federal agencies. Informed by the Partnership’s Best Places to Work in the Federal Government research and a recent survey of federal chief human capital officers, Stier laid out a series of recommendations for effectively implementing a pay for performance system.
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The Partnership Submits Official Statement for the Record Regarding H.R. 2363 (GOFEDS)
The Partnership submitted an official statement for the record for the October 17, 2007, joint House Ways and Means Subcommittee hearing on the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2007. Partnership President and CEO, Max Stier, testified in support of H.R. 2363, the bipartisan Generating Opportunity by Forgiving Educational Debt for Service Act (GOFEDS), introduced by Representative Tim Bishop (D-NY). Stier argued that the language in H.R. 2363 complements many of the objectives of the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2007 and urged the Subcommittees to consider incorporating the GOFEDS language into the Heroes bill.
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The Partnership Testifies on GAO’s Recent Personnel Reforms
On May 22, 2007, Partnership President Max Stier delivered testimony at a joint House/Senate subcommittee hearing on GAO personnel reform. In the testimony he asserted that GAO is on the right track with its performance based and market sensitive approach to compensation. He mentioned that GAO is the number two agency in the Best Places to Work rankings and talked about the need for regular employee evaluations and pulse surveys to gage employee satisfaction. In his testimony he also recommended that Congress independently review and evaluate the data and metrics that GAO gathers on their new hire rate, acceptance rate, and retention rate and calculate GAO’s return on investment.
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The Partnership Testifies on Morale at DHS and Offers Recommendations for a Way Forward
On April 19th, 2007, Partnership President Max Stier testified before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Management, Investigations and Oversight regarding low employee morale at the Department of Homeland Security. Stier referenced the Partnership’s Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings which show that DHS ranks second to last among large agencies with respect to workplace satisfaction. Stier recommended that Congress encourage and support Department efforts to hire and retain talent, establish a fair, credible, and transparent performance management system, and develop a system of metrics to evaluate personnel management and reforms over time.
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The Partnership Assesses Agencies with Alternative Personnel Systems and Makes Recommendations
Partnership Executive Vice President and General Counsel Kevin Simpson testified on March 8th, 2007, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce regarding the status of alternative personnel systems in the federal government. Simpson noted the mixed record of the more recently-established systems and the importance of strong leadership and sustained effort over time to ensure that such systems succeed. He offered several recommendations for the Subcommittee’s consideration.
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The Partnership Testifies before the House Appropriation Subcommittee on Key Issues in the Federal Workforce
On March 6th, 2007, Partnership President Max Stier spoke before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on federal workforce issues. Stier’s recommendations included focusing on leadership and management, devoting more resources to training and existing workforce management tools, and using better measures to assess government’s hiring, retention and overall management.
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Partnership Comments on the Effectiveness of the National Security Personnel System (NSPS)
Also on March 6th, 2007, Stier testified before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness on the status of the Defense Department’s National Security Personnel System (NSPS). Among his recommendations, Stier suggested that the subcommittee focus on a core set of metrics by which to assess the effectiveness of the NSPS.
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109th Congress
Partnership President Testifies on Working for America Act
On October 5th, 2005, at a hearing of the House Committee of Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and Agency Organization, Partnership for Public Service President Max Stier testified on the Working for America Act.
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Partnership for Public Service Says Key to Success of Medicare Modernization Legislation is Hiring the Right People
On April 5th, 2005, a Partnership for Public Service expert on human capital practices testified before a Senate committee studying how the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will carry out legislation to upgrade Medicare benefits for America's seniors. Marcia Marsh, Vice President for Government Transformation at the Partnership, revealed how a pro bono team of recruitment experts is helping CMS meet one of its biggest challenges: attracting talented employees to meet their increased program demands.
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108th Congress
Partnership Identifies Greatest Challenge to Improving the Federal Hiring Process:
Management Accountability
On June 7th, 2004, at a Congressional field hearing to examine the need for improving the federal hiring process, the Partnership for Public Service's expert on private sector human capital practices, Marsha Marsh, said the best way to help the federal government compete for and retain highly skilled and talented employees is to “start at the top,” ensuring that agency leaders are actively involved in the effort.
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Partnership Encourages Continuity in Efforts to Hire, Train, and Manage a High-Performing Federal Workforce During an Election Year:
Congress Urged to Make Transition Oversight a Priority
On May 18th, 2004, at a hearing of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization, Kevin Simpson, Executive Vice President of the Partnership for Public Service, recommended that efforts to improve the federal government's ability to develop and manage a high-performing workforce are not disrupted by the changes in agency leadership that accompany an election year.
The hearing was held to assess how federal agencies have implemented legislation creating Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) at major agencies to align workforce planning with top strategic goals, and to learn about the accomplishments of the CHCO Council, an interagency task force designed to assist CHCOs in carrying out their responsibilities.
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Partnership President Testifies Before Congressional Committee:
Success of 9/11 Commission's Recommendations Depends On Putting People First
At a September 14th, 2004, hearing on the 9/11 Commission recommendations, sponsored by the Oversight of Government Management, Federal Workforce and District of Columbia Subcommittee of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, the Partnership for Public Service stressed that addressing the Commission's recommendations must start with investing in people.
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Partnership President Testifies In Support of CHCO Legislation
Partnership President and CEO Max Stier testified before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee in support of Sen. Voinovich's proposal to install Chief Human Capital Officers in government agencies to ensure high-level strategic attention is given to workforce management issues.
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The Partnership for Public Service works to revitalize our federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.
