Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 11, 2021
Federal Skills Act
This bill provides statutory authority for the executive order titled Modernizing and Reforming the Assessment and Hiring of Federal Job Candidates, which was issued on June 26, 2020. The order generally prescribes certain limits as to the consideration and use of post-high school educational requirements for positions in the competitive service.
Among other things, the order specifies that an executive agency may only institute a minimum educational requirement for a position in the competitive service if it is legally required for the position, and may only consider a candidate's education with respect to other minimum requirements if it directly reflects the competencies necessary for the position.
The order requires the Office of Personnel Management to review and revise the classification and qualification standards for positions in the competitive service so as to comply with these requirements. The order also requires changes to be made public, and to take effect, within 120 days and 180 days of the date of the order, respectively. (The bill requires a similar timeline with respect to the date of enactment of the bill.)
Source last updated: Apr 7, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze H.R.967 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine H.R.967 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine H.R.967 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine H.R.967 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.