NARFE National President Ken Thomas Testifies Before Congress on the Future of Federal Work
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ARFE National President Ken Thomas testified before the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations on December 1, 2021, in a hearing considering the future of federal work. Thomas’ testimony, delivered via Zoom, emphasized the need for the federal government and Congress to adopt reforms necessary to attract the next generation of workers. Outlining the precarious situation of the workforce, Thomas highlighted the Government Accountability Office’s continuing assessment that agencies face missioncritical skills gaps. This problem is compounded by the fact that nearly 28 percent of federal employees are eligible to retire in the next five years, but only 8 percent of federal employees are under the age of 30. This shortage of younger workers makes it harder to compensate for the loss of institutional knowledge by those retiring and creates new challenges to fill those open positions. Thomas underscored the need to simplify and streamline federal hiring practices to improve recruitment and retention. Currently, the federal government’s average time to hire is 98 days, significantly higher than the private sector average of 36 days. Thomas also emphasized the need for the federal government to provide competitive
compensation. According to the Federal Salary Council, federal employees are paid 23 percent less than their private-sector counterparts. He stressed that
to keep up with the competition, the government must adopt competitive pay and benefits; modern work practices, such as flexible telework and paid family leave; improve federal internship programs; and more. In response to a question from Subcommittee Chairman Gerry Connolly, D-VA, Thomas identified federal internship programs as a crucial part of the government’s “toolbelt” for recruitment and noted that they should serve as a “pipeline to encourage people to apply or join the federal workforce.” The government’s paid internships have shrunk considerably over the last decade, from 60,000 paid interns in 2010 to only about 4,000 in 2020. NARFE supports the chairman’s Building the Next Generation of Federal Employees Act, H.R. 6104, which would rejuvenate federal internship programs and
help convert qualified interns to federal employees. To do so, the bill would establish a Federal Internship and Fellowship Center within the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to manage, administer and promote the programs, including a website where agencies can post internships for applicants to browse. It would also require that federal interns be paid for their service and would provide successful interns with an added five points for their competitive service examination rating in recognition of their experience. Furthermore, Thomas emphasized the importance of revitalizing OPM to meet the needs of an evolving federal workforce. He affirmed NARFE’s support for the Strengthening the Office of Personnel Management Act, H.R. 6066, which would implement several recommendations from a report by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) outlining ways to improve OPM. The report, which NARFE pushed for and which was mandated by Congress, provides numerous suggestions for bettering OPM’s services and for solidifying its leadership in federal human capital management. H.R 6066 was approved by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform just a day after NARFE’s testimony. As of press time, the bill had not yet been taken up by the full chamber. —BY SETH ICKES, POLITICAL ASSOCIATE NARFE MAGAZINE www.NARFE.org
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