Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) introduced the Chance to Compete Act (H.R. 159), a federal hiring reform bill FMA endorsed, on January 10, 2023. The House approved the measure on January 24 by a vote of 422-2. Given the support similar legislation had in the Senate in the previous (117th) session of Congress, we are hopeful this commonsense bill will be passed and signed into law.

From the bill summary on Congress.gov, H.R. 159 “modifies examination requirements and other components of the federal hiring process for positions in the competitive service. Specifically, the bill provides that a qualifying examination includes a résumé review that is conducted by a subject matter expert. Additionally, beginning two years after the bill's enactment, the bill prohibits examinations from consisting solely of a self-assessment from an automated examination, a résumé review that is not conducted by a subject matter expert, or any other method of assessing an applicant's experience or education; an agency may waive these requirements when necessary but must report any such waivers and may not use waivers to fill more than 10 percent of agency positions.

Agencies may use subject matter experts to develop position-specific technical assessments that allow applicants to demonstrate job-related skills, abilities, and knowledge; assessments may include structured interviews, work-related exercises, procedures to measure career-related qualifications and interests, or other similar assessments. The bill also allows agencies to establish talent teams to support and improve hiring practices.”

H.R. 159 is cosponsored by House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-KY), Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA). FMA is a strong proponent of hiring reform efforts and will work to see this and other legislation pass in the Senate.