Portman's bipartisan Competitive Service Act signed into law

On Monday, Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) announced that his bipartisan legislation authored along with Jon Tester (D-Mont.) to allow federal agencies to streamline the hiring process by cutting duplicative services and saving taxpayer money was signed into law by the president on Friday. The bill is also sponsored by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.)
 
The senators’ Competitive Service Act would allow federal agencies to review and select job candidates from other federal agencies’ “best qualified list” of applicants, cutting down on duplication for applicants who have already undergone a competitive assessment process and are certified as eligible for selection. Currently, agencies that have similar hiring needs cannot share such applicant information with one another.
 

[[In-content Ad]]“It’s critical that the federal government has world-class, highly-trained individuals able to deal with sensitive national security issues like cybersecurity and information technology,” Portman said. “Our bill will streamline the hiring process -- enabling agencies to share applicant pools so that qualified individuals will not have to undergo an already slow hiring process time and time again for similar positions across the federal government. This is a common-sense bill to help agencies get the right people in the right jobs in a more efficient manner.”
 
This bill is supported by the Partnership for Public Service, National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE), Federal Managers Association (FMA) and the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA).