Sec. 355. Sense of Congress on effective and efficient management of the blended Federal workforce
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Congress finds the following: The implementation of Federal laws and the competent administration of Federal programs require skilled and capable personnel. Executive agencies depend on a blended workforce that includes Federal employees, employees of prime contractors and subcontractors performing services to Executive agencies, and employees of State or local governments, nonprofit organizations, or institutions of higher education performing services to Executive agencies under the terms of grants and cooperative agreements (in this section referred to as grantees ), all of whom make essential contributions to achieving the missions of the Government in service to the American people.
Approximately 2,000,000 Federal employees help to execute the laws of the United States, supplemented by an unknown number, estimated to exceed 5,000,000, of employees of prime contractors, subcontractors, and grantees providing services to Executive agencies. Policymakers, Executive agencies, and observers have often focused on individual components of the blended workforce, such as employees, without considering all components or considering the entire blended workforce and how all 3 components can work most effectively together.
Executive agencies inhibit their own workforce planning and risk making decisions that may reduce the overall efficiency and cost effectiveness of the blended workforce by focusing on only 1 component in isolation. Establishing artificial limits on headcounts or full-time equivalent positions for Federal employees, administrators, and managerial employees of Executive agencies may discourage the employment of interns or entry-level employees to build a balanced employment pipeline and may inadvertently encourage managers to shift work to contractors and grantees for the purpose of complying with such numerical limits, even if those decisions are not justified by an approach to improve the efficiency or cost effectiveness of the Executive agency’s work.
The Government Accountability Office has identified strategic human capital management as a high-risk area for the Federal Government, adding that critical skills gaps impede the government from cost-effectively serving the public and achieving results . It is the sense of Congress that— Executive agencies should manage the entire Federal blended workforce, including employees, contractors, and grantees, using a comprehensive and holistic approach to advance their missions as effectively and cost efficiently as possible, within appropriated budgets and without using artificial numerical limits on headcounts or full-time-equivalent positions; and Executive agencies should conduct a holistic review of their blended workforce and develop a comprehensive plan to ensure an efficient and cost-effective blended workforce.