Comments of Veterans' Administration

This recommendation could apparently be placed into effect by Executive order. It is obviously intended to establish a refinement of the schedules of positions exempted from the competitive civil service in line with the criteria set forth in recommendation No. 2. Chiefly, this would be embodied in the proposed schedule D, designed to include positions as to which the incumbents perform the policymaking and political functions dealt with in criteria (c), recommendation No. 2. Reference is made to the comments of the Veterans' Administration on recommendation No. 2 and the reservations therein expressed. Subject to these comments, the idea of the new types of schedules appears to be worthy of consideration, although it would appear that the noncareer executive positions largely envisaged could be placed in the existing schedule C. It is emphasized that the proposed new schedule D should be governed by criteria which would not be so susceptible of unrestricted practical interpretation and use as to remove persons in higher grade positions from the category of career employees when they are not in fact performing "political" or policy functions. This has been dealt with in recommendation No. 2 and is repeated here for emphasis for the reason that the stability of the career service is of great practical importance in the activities of an agency such as the Veterans' Administration.

RECOMMENDATION NO. 4

"We recommend that Congress authorize salary increases for the Government's top managers, career and noncareer, as a practical means of securing and holding competent men in public service."

Comments of Veterans' Administration

This recommendation would obviously require legislative action. It is basically sound because it recognizes the fact that the administrative and public responsibilities of an agency necessarily focus in its top executive positions which, in the interests of efficiency, must be held by the most competent persons available.

RECOMMENDATION NO. 5

"We recommend that the President and the appropriate committees of the Congress review the conflict-of-interest laws to determine whether the intent of such laws can be better achieved by other and more positive means which would encourage rather than discourage entry of competent men into public life."

Comments of Veterans' Administration

The Veterans' Administration is not in a position to indicate the extent to which the conflict-of-interest laws have been an obstacle to recruitment of competent men into Federal positions. The difficulty of attracting highly qualified persons for a period of public service in high positions is widely recognized as a major problem of Government, and to the extent that this problem may be aggravated by the conflict-of-interest laws an overall study seems in order.

RECOMMENDATION NO. 6

"We recommend that the Congress authorize and the President establish a senior civil service composed of highly qualified, politically neutral career administrators nominated by their employing agencies and appointed after a careful selection by a bipartisan Senior Civil Service Board with the consent of the President to serve in positions agreed upon by the Board and employing agencies. Such senior civil servants should have status, rank, and salary vested in them as individuals so that they may be employed in a flexible manner in career positions throughout the Federal service."

Comments of Veterans' Administration

The recommendation assumes that legislative authority would be required. The Veterans' Administration, like other Federal agencies and departments, could and probably would be affected. The essence of this recommendation is the establishment of an elite corps of highly qualified career administrators, removed from political influences, to serve in career positions, on a flexible basis throughout the Government, and subject to assignments to or within the agencies as changing circumstances might indicate.

In theory, this plan is geared to the desirable objective of having available for "trouble spots" and special problem areas, regardless of agency lines, a group of administrative experts with outstanding personal prestige and rank who could bring to bear their skills and experience to such problems without some of the handicaps which tend to develop from long-standing relationships within the individual agency. The Veterans' Administration desires to reserve final judgment on the principle of this plan pending a more concrete development of it which might be devised in the future. However, there are some objectionable features which counsel a cautious analysis of any plan of this kind, and some of these features should now be mentioned. Provision is already made for a system of executive grades including the so-called supergrades. High compensation can be provided for these career executives to the extent desirable without creating an executive pool. If serious necessity arises, it is already possible to make the services of especially skilled personnel available on an interagency basis.

The establishment of a supercategory of career executives, with unique privileges and obligations setting them apart from other civil servants, might weaken the effectiveness and prestige of other echelons of top management. Conversely, the members of such "elite corps" might be exposed to unfounded criticism and held responsible as scapegoats for alleged mistakes more easily than if they were a permanent part of individual agencies.

Further, the enhanced status of these persons would carry burdens which could easily offset the theoretical attractiveness of the positions. Notwithstanding that they would be career people, the very nature of their distinctive status might subject them to subtle pressures of many kinds, political and otherwise. They would not be free from arbitrary control in the form of unpredictable future assignments which would greatly limit their freedom of choice as to work and domicile.

Moreover, the close relationship which must exist between agency heads and their key executives would be lessened rather than intensified by the establishment of an outside board, with powers of selection, replacement, promotion, and removal of such officials.

The foregoing observations are merely indicative of some serious cautions which should be raised in connection with this proposal. It is believed that a sound career development program within the several agencies themselves, with appropriate internal rotation of key personnel as needed, would go far toward realizing the purposes of this recommendation without the questionable aspects which it involves.

RECOMMENDATION NO. 7

"We recommend that except for special skills, training should be systematically conducted by the agencies themselves and that training should count heavily as a factor in the promotion of employees." Comments of Veterans' Administration

The established goals and practices of the Veterans' Administration are in accordance with this recommendation. Training counts heavily in the promotion of employees since, according to the policy of the Veterans' Administration, the best qualified employee is to be selected for promotion, and appropriate training is recognized as increasing the employee's qualifications.

As examples, it may be noted that in the Department of Medicine and Surgery, the value of in-service training has been emphasized through such activities as managers' institutes, training assignments for assistant managers, interprofessional conferences on specific aspects of program, career residency training programs, special detail of newly appointed chiefs to work for a period with experienced chiefs, in-service seminars, conferences, and so forth.

RECOMMENDATION NO. 8

"We recommend that

"(a) The grade structure under the Classification Act of 1949, ast amended, be simplified. Grades GS-1 to 6 should be combined into 3 grades, and grades GS-7 to 11 should be combined into 3 grades. Positions would then be allocated to 6 grades in this range rather than to 11. No change is proposed in the higher grades, except that many employees in positions now classified at GS-15 and up would be absorbed into the senior civil service with its own pay schedules based on personal-rank status.

"(b) A genuine classification of postal employees should replace the misleading system of payment according to meaningless titles. The grade structure should be simplified to bring it in line with the proposed general classification plan; and eventually postal employees should be brought into the general classification structure.

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"(c) To provide coordination among the multiplicity of wage board systems, a definite statutory basis for payment in accordance with prevailing labor-market rates should be established, and the Civil Service Commission should be authorized to study such pay systems and to establish general rules and regulations (a) for classifying the positions:

to be paid at local rates, and (b) for determining local prevailing wages.

(d) The Civil Service Commission and the appropriate committees of the Congress review the positions now under the Classification Act to determine whether additional positions might in the interest of economy and efficiency be paid under local wage board arrangements." Comments of Veterans' Administration

This would, of course, require legislation to accomplish most of the specified purposes. The Veterans' Administration concurs in the goal of subdivision (a), which is simplification of the grade structure under the Classification Act. The question of the precise number of grade levels which should be established in this simplification process should be carefully explored, including the problem of appropriate salary ranges to provide adequate recognition between grades in terms of pay differentials and to eliminate overlaps.

Subdivision (b) is not applicable to the Veterans' Administration. Subdivision (c) is desirable from the standpoint of this agency. The statutory definition of what constitutes the prevailing rate and a statement of general rules and procedures to be followed by all agencies in wage administration would be of great assistance in achieving equitable and consistent pay practices with respect to all Federal wageadministration employees in each labor-market area. However, it is assumed that the authority which would be vested in the Civil Service Commission would not extend to the actual control of wage rate fixing by the individual agencies, but would consist of establishing rules and standards.

Subdivision (d) proposes a review by the Civil Service Commission and the appropriate congressional committees of positions under the Classification Act to determine whether additional positions might, in the interests of economy and efficiency, be paid under local wageboard arrangements. While a review of this kind may be desirable at some future period, there would seem to be sound reason for delaying it for a while until additional wage-administration experience is acquired by Federal agencies in the implementation of section 105 of Public Law 763, 83d Congress.

"We recommend:

RECOMMENDATION NO. 9

"(a) A recruiting program including

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"1. Continued efforts to improve the character and distribution of announcements;

"2. Adequate public information programs; and

"3. Expansion of college recruiting, under Civil Service Commission leadership but with full agency participation.

"(b) Vigorous and continued efforts by the Civil Service Commission and the employing agencies to improve examinations. Such efforts should include:

"1. More open continuous examinations which can be taken by candidates at any time.

"2. Validation of tests and employment standards to make sure that they really measure the qualities needed."

Comments of Veterans' Administration

The recommendation advocates an increase and intensification of activities already being carried on by this agency, by the Civil Service Commission, and by joint endeavors of the Veterans' Administration and the Civil Service Commission.

We believe that open continuous examinations are sound where there is a continuing need for eligibles from these examinations and where the number of eligibles on registers from closed examinations is insufficient. Open continuous examinations are the general pattern for the professional categories in our Department of Medicine and Surgery appointed under civil-service regulations and procedures. However, in general, as long as an adequate register of qualified eligibles is available to meet current and projected needs, we do not believe it is economical to solicit and rate additional applications on a continuing basis.

There is an obvious need for the continuing validation of tests and employment standards utilized in connection with recruitment.

Attention to Government service as a career should be directed not only to college students, but to the high-school and preparatory-school level to stimulate interest not only in fields requiring an A. B. or graduate work but in other technical fields in which specialty training does not require an A. B.

Greater use should be made of announcements of specific openings in professional journals than has heretofore been possible because of certain legal restrictions on use of funds for this purpose.

RECOMMENDATION NO. 10

"We recommend that

"(a) More use be made of interviews, and interview techniques be improved.

(b) Junior professional examinations, especially junior management assistant examinations be improved.

"(c) The Civil Service Commission be authorized by law to allow appointing officers greater leeway in selecting personnel by permitting them to make their selection from among 5 certified eligibles rather than 3 (the present rule) except in appointments to lower grade positions and the postal field services.

"(d) The Commission make full use of its authority to substitute category rating for numerical rating of the qualifications of applicants for certain higher scientific, technical, and administrative positions. "(e) The Commission allow more flexible use of registers of eligibles between civil service regional areas."

Comments of Veterans' Administration

While this recommendation primarily affects the Civil Service Commission, it is also applicable to the Veterans' Administration.

Interviews with prospective applicants are essential, particularly in those fields in which personal contacts are a major part of the essential duties. We are at present preparing an interviewing guide to assist operating officials in the conduct of effective interviews.

The degree of flexibility in selection from 5 eligibles, when available, rather than 3 is highly desirable.