Senator seeks to raise pay cap for new senior executives

Agencies may be able to pay new top-level hires more than the current law allows under legislation Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, plans to introduce later this week. Voinovich said his proposed legislation would allow agencies to fill mission-critical positions within the government by raising the current senior executive pay cap of $161,200 for top-level recruits. "We need to give agencies the flexibility to hire people above the current pay cap," Voinovich said Tuesday during an event on federal workforce challenges sponsored by the Partnership for Public Service, a new nonprofit group devoted to improving the government's recruitment and retention record. The legislation would give agencies the same hiring authority as the IRS and FAA, Voinovich said. Both agencies are exempt from portions of Title V, the law that governs the federal personnel structure, allowing them greater flexibility in hiring and paying top executives. Mike Dovilla, a Senate Governmental Affairs Committee staff member, said Voinovich's legislation would raise the salary level for new top-level hires to that of the Vice President, who this year makes $186,300. "It is designed to bring top-level people in for mission-critical positions, like information technology," Dovilla said. Dovilla said the provision to raise the pay cap is purely a recruiting tool, and does not address the pay compression issue affecting current members of the Senior Executive Service. Members of the Senior Executive Service cannot earn more than $161,200 this year in total compensation, which is the salary for Cabinet members. "We have talked to people concerned about pay compression, including senior executives," Dovilla said. "This [legislation] would not be a replacement for dealing with pay compression." The proposed legislation also does not address pay increases for the civilian workforce, according to Dovilla. The Senate and House have both approved a 4.6 percent pay raise for federal employees in fiscal 2002, but the Bush administration has repeatedly called for a 3.6 percent raise for federal civilians.

However, Bush has advocated a 4.6 percent raise for military service members, marking the first time since 1987 that federal employees would not get the same raise as military personnel. Dovilla said that Voinovich is working with unions on the issue of federal pay and may introduce a bill on the issue in the future. Voinovich's legislative package also calls for putting in place a federal chief human resources officer at each agency, streamlining the federal hiring process, improving government benefits for employees and providing more money and opportunities for job training. The bill would create a government human resources council co-chaired by Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director Sean O'Keefe and Office of Personnel Management Director Kay Coles James. Voinovich pledged that his legislation, which contains provisions similar to some included in the President's "Managerial Flexibility Act," would maintain the merit systems principles that guide government hiring. Rep. Connie Morella, R-Md., plans to introduce a companion bill in the House. Voinovich said the government already has some tools to recruit and retain a talented federal workforce, but that Congress and the administration need to help OPM and agencies make better use of those incentives. "Congress is going to have to fund those functions, and the administration is going to have to be a big part of this, too," he said.