H. Rept. 115-967 - TO MODIFY THE APPLICATION OF TEMPORARY LIMITED APPOINTMENT REGULATIONS TO THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES115th Congress (2017-2018)
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115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-967
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TO MODIFY THE APPLICATION OF TEMPORARY LIMITED APPOINTMENT REGULATIONS
TO THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
September 25, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 6599]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 6599) to modify the application of temporary
limited appointment regulations to the National Park Service,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 6599 is to modify the application of
temporary limited appointment regulations to the National Park
Service.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Every year, millions of people from the United States and
abroad visit our national parks. To protect park resources and
to serve the public, the National Park Service (NPS) employs a
permanent workforce and an essential temporary seasonal
workforce. Thousands of temporary seasonal employees are hired
every year to assist permanent staff at many NPS parks and
offices.\1\ They have proven to be indispensable to park
operations, and represent a variety of positions, including
park rangers, firefighters, trail crew, fee collectors, grounds
crew and law enforcement officers.
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\1\``Applying for a Job with the National Park Service.'' About Us.
National Park Service website. https://www.nps.gov/about us/how-to-
apply.htm,
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Many NPS temporary seasonal employees will return to work
at the same park for several summers. These employees may be
rehired at the start of each season without reapplying for the
same job they held the previous season. Temporary seasonal
employees may only be rehired for the same job title at the
same pay grade, and the reappointment is contingent upon a
satisfactory performance review. This practice is authorized by
the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and applies to all
federal agencies.\2\ Agencies benefit in cost and time savings
from the reduced recruitment, interviewing, and vetting
workload, and temporary seasonal employees gain an element of
certainty in their summer employment plans.
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\2\``Temporary Limited Appointments''. Title 5 CFR 316.401-402.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title5-vol1/pdf/CFR-2012-title5-
vol1.pdf.
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Recently, the NPS's interpretation and implementation of
the applicable federal hiring regulations have been called into
question by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In
October 2016, OPM conducted a human resources audit of NPS
workforce strategies, staffing operations, and compliance with
laws, regulations and policies.\3\ OPM was particularly
concerned with the perceived misuse of time-limited appointing
authorities, including the temporary seasonal rehire authority.
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\3\US Office of Personnel Management. October 2016. `HR
Transformation and Talent Management at the National Park Service:
FY15-FY16''.
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The crux of the issue is the interpretation of the term
``major subdivision'' in the applicable regulation found at 5
C.F.R. 316.401. For an employee to be eligible for rehiring
authority, the employee must not work more than six months in a
major subdivision of an agency. OPM defines ``major
subdivision'' as the bureau of a federal agency, e.g. the NPS.
The NPS interpreted ``major subdivision'' as an individual park
unit, e.g. Yellowstone National Park.\4\ NPS had been
permitting temporary seasonal employees to work a summer season
in one park and a winter season in a different park unit. In
OPM's view, such an employee had worked more than six months
and in cases where such an employee was subsequently rehired
non-competitively, NPS had violated the federal regulation.
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\4\National Park Service Memorandum. May 15, 2018. ``Updated
Guidance for the Determination and Use of Non-Competitive Rehire
Eligibility for Temporary Seasonal Appointments''. https://www.nps.gov/
about us/upload/Updated-Guidance-Non-Competitive-Rehire.pdf.
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NPS was directed by OPM to make operational changes to
ensure compliance with regulations that govern the hiring and
rehiring of temporary seasonal employees.\5\ The implementation
of the directive created confusion for NPS managers, hiring
officials, and temporary seasonal employees expecting to return
to their previously held positions.\6\ It also threatened the
ability of parks to open and operate as normal for the upcoming
season. Many temporary seasonal employees lost their ability to
be rehired under this simplified authority and were left
unexpectedly out of a job they had planned on.\7\
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\5\Id.
\6\NTEU The National Treasury Employees Union. Letter from National
President Anthony M. Reardon to the Honorable Tom McClintock, Chairman
Subcommittee on Federal Lands and the Honorable Colleen Hanabusa,
Ranking Member Subcommittee on Federal Lands. Dated April 16, 2018.
\7\``Many Lose Jobs after National Park Service Changes
Interpretation of Seasonal Work Rule''. Government Executive. April 20,
2018. https://www.govexec.com/management/2018/04/many-lose-jobs-after-
national-park-service-changes-interpretation-seasonal-work-rule/
147618/.
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H.R. 6599 would authorize the NPS Director to define the
term ``major subdivision'' in the CFR as it pertains to the
NPS. This specific reference is in section 316.401 of subpart D
of part 316 of title 5, CFR.\8\ The bill also states that the
requirement that a position be in the same local commuting area
shall not apply.
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\8\``Temporary Limited Appointments''. Title 5 CFR 316.401-402.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title5-vol1/pdf/CFR-2012-title5-
vol1.pdf.
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Some NPS temporary seasonal employees work at multiple
parks in a calendar year to gain the experience they will need
to qualify for permanent positions. Others enjoy working in
different parts of the country and prefer the flexible
lifestyle. In either case, temporary seasonal workers are often
the face and backbone of our parks and are critical to the
successful operation of the NPS. H.R. 6599 gives the NPS the
flexibility it has long enjoyed to hire the experienced
workforce it needs to protect our parks and serve visitors from
around the world.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 6599 was introduced on July 26, 2018, by Congressman
Stephen Knight (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On September 5, 2018, the
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments
were offered, and the bill was ordered favorably reported to
the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 20, 2018.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 6599, a bill to
modify the application of temporary limited appointment
regulations to the National Park Service, and for other
purposes.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jacob Fabian.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 6599--A bill to modify the application of temporary limited
appointment regulations to the National Park Service, and for
other purposes
H.R. 6599 would allow the National Park Service (NPS) to
resume its previous policy of hiring and rehiring temporary
seasonal workers at different parks. Prior to May 2018, the NPS
allowed temporary seasonal employees to work the winter season
in one park and the summer season in a different park. The
Office of Personnel Management determined that this practice
was a violation of federal regulations and in May 2018 directed
the NPS to make operational changes to ensure compliance with
the regulations that govern the hiring and rehiring of
temporary seasonal workers.
Using information from the NPS, CBO estimates that the cost
of implementing H.R. 6599 would not be significant.
Enacting H.R. 6599 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6599 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 6599 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jacob Fabian.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to modify the application of
temporary limited appointment regulations to the National Park
Service.
EARMARK STATEMENT
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5
Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing
law.
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