EXTENDING CLASSIFIED EXECUTIVE CIVIL SERVICE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1935 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON CIVIL SERVICE, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met pursuant to call at 10 a. m., in the committee room, Senate Office Building, Senator Logan presiding. Present, Senators Logan (chairman), Dieterich, and White. Senator LOGAN. The committee will come to order. The committee had under consideration S. 564 which is here printed in full as follows: [S. 564, 74th Cong., 1st sess. A BILL Extending the classified executive civil service of the United States Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) with the exception of such positions as the President may exempt by Executive order, and with the exception of positions subject to confirmation by the United States Senate, all positions in the executive civil service which are not now subject to the provisions of the Civil Service Act and rules are placed in the classified service of the United States within the meaning of the Act of March 27, 1922 (42 Stat. 470). (b) Among the agencies which are affected by this statute shall be included any corporation created under authority of an Act of Congress which is controlled or owned by the United States Government, whether or not the employees thereof are paid from funds appropriated by Congress. (c) The incumbents of the positions affected by this statute who are in the service on its effective date may acquire a classified status only upon recommendation by the head of the appropriate agency subject to noncompetitive test of fitness by the Civil Service Commission under regulations to be promulgated by the President of the United States. I understand, Mr. Mitchell, you were to make a statement about this matter. You are the President of the Civil Service Commission? What do you call it, "President" or "Chairman"? STATEMENT OF H. B. MITCHELL, CHAIRMAN OF THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Chairman, they call it "Chairman"; I do not know why, but that is what they claim to be the official title. Senator LOGAN. If you will be kind enough to make any comments that you may desire about the provisions of the bill and any suggestions as to change, why, the subcommittee will appreciate it, Mr. Mitchell. Mr. MITCHELL. We have here prepared, Senator, some data concerning the Civil Service as a whole, which might be useful to your committee. That is a review of the numbers and an estimate of the numbers that would be covered by this bill. 1 Senator LOGAN. We would like to incorporate in the hearing this written statement, and file the printed matter to save cost in printing. So we will receive that as an exhibit. (The statement is as follows:) THE EXECUTIVE CIVIL SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES, CLASSIFIED, AND EXCEPTED OR UNCLASSIFIED On June 30, 1934, the executive civil service included 661,094 employees, of whom approximately 461,587 occupied competitive classified positions under the provisions of the civil service act and rules. Of the remainder of 199,507 positions, approximately 70,000 were at that time in what may be termed "emergency" agencies such as Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Agricultural Adjustment Administration, Home Owners' Loan Corporation, National Recovery Administration, Public Works Administration, etc.; and approximately 1,000 were in such organizations as the Merchant Fleet Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, etc. The accompanying table shows the distribution of these positions as of the date named, by departments and independent establishments, and divided by the employments in the District of Columbia and outside the District of Columbia, and by men and women. There is also attached copy of table showing the total number of employees in the District of Columbia and outside the District of Columbia in the executive civil service of the United States, on December 31, 1934, by departments and independent establishments; but the detailed information as to the division of positions occupied by men and women has not yet been received from the departments. On December 31, 1934, there were about 86,534 employees in the emergency agencies. It will be noted from this letter table that the total number of positions in the executive branch of the Government on December 31, 1934, was 672,273, as compared with 661,094 reported on June 30, 1934. It is not yet possible to subdivide the December 31, table to the same extent as the table herewith submitted for June 30, 1934, and accordingly the June 30, table is used as the basic figures for consideration. In order that your committee may have reasonably complete information in one document for reference purposes, it is stated that provision is made in the Civil Service Act and the rules promulgated thereunder for the following: 1. Open competitive examinations for entrance to the classified service which is grouped under these two heads: (a) The branches of the service in the central offices of the departments and the independent establishments in the District of Columbia which are subject to the apportionment of appointments among the States and Territories and the District of Columbia on the basis of population, and (b) positions in the nonapportioned service which includes the Government Printing Office and a few positions such as mechanic positions and telephone operator, and principally all the positions in the field branches of the Government outside of the central offices, which constitute more than 80 percent of the entire executive civil service. 2. Promotion, transfer, removal, separation from the service, reinstatement, political activity, etc., involved in the status of employees who have attained a classified status in the executive branch of the Government. 3. Positions in what is known as "schedule A" of the Civil Service Rules, being a list of positions which the President has directed by Executive order need not be filled through examination. 4. Positions in what is known as "schedule B" of the Civil Service Rules which is a list of positions that the President has directed shall be subject to nomination by the appropriate appointing officer subject to noncompetitive examinations by the Commission. 5. Provision for making exceptions from the fundamental provisions of the Civil Service Act by Executive order. These orders are issued by the President usually as acts of benevolence to permit the appointment, without competition, of a widow or other dependent of a Government employee who has lost his life, usually in line of duty. 6. Temporary appointments to meet all types of conditions that may arise in the Executive branch of the Government, such as emergency conditions, job employments, and temporary employments pending establishment of eligible registers through competitive examinations to fill the positions permanently. CLASSIFICATION ACT OF 1923, AS AMENDED Under another statute, namely, the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, authority is given to the Civil Service Commission to pass upon positions in the regular branches of the Government in Washington, D. C., so that the compensation paid to individuals will not exceed the rates established by Congress and will be comparable across departmental lines. In other words, this statute provides for “equal pay for equal work", within the range established by Congress. THE GROWTH OF THE CLASSIFIED EXECUTIVE CIVIL SERVICE The Civil Service Act of 1883 provided specifically for the classification of certain groups of positions in the Customs Service and the Post Office Service, and provided further for the extension of the classification upon approval by the President. Aside from the natural growth of the Service, the competitive classified service has grown principally by action of the Presidents in extending the competitive provision of the Civil Service Act to groups of positions, as extension by congressional action during the 50 years of the civil-service system has not exceeded 7,000 positions, since the initial classification of about 14,000 positions in 1883. The following table shows by completed presidential terms, the number of positions which have been added to and withdrawn from the competitive classified service: Less number of positions included in reduction in force on June 30, 1923 (approximate).. 528,096 22, 721 505, 375 38, 214 Total number of classified positions on Mar. 3, 1933.. 467, 161 NOTE. Of the 17,407 positions charged against President Taft as withdrawals from the classified service, 16,000 were automatically withdrawn by operation of an opinion of the Attorney General under date of July 6, 1909; and these 16,000 positions of navy yard artisans were restored to the classified service by Executive order of President Taft under date of Dec. 7, 1912. The large number of 169,818 positions added to the classified service by Executive order of President Wilson is accounted for largely by the fact that the Federal classified service increased by approximately 164,908 positions through growth rather than through act of Congress or Executive order. AUTHORITY TO CLASSIFY EXCEPTED OR UNCLASSIFIED POSITIONS The classified executive civil service is defined in the following quotation from the act of March 27, 1922: "That in the administration of the Civil Service Retirement Act approved May 22, 1920, the expression 'all employees in the classified civil service of the United States', as used in section 1 thereof, shall be construed to include all persons who have been heretofore or who may hereafter be given a competitive status in the classified civil service, with or without competitive examination, by legislative enactment or under the civil-service rules promulgated by the President or by Executive orders covering groups of employees with their positions into the competitive classified service or authorizing the appointment of individuals to positions within such service. "The expression 'classified civil service', as the same occurs in other acts of Congress, shall receive a like construction to that herein given." The President, of course, has authority to place in the classified service by Executive order those positions which he has placed on the excepted classes under schedule A and B of the civil-service rules as described above. There are, however, individual establishments or agencies of the Government which are exempt from the provisions of the Civil Service Act and rules, and which fall into three major classes: 1. The establishments in which the examination in the statute is in permissive language rather than mandatory. An example is the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, in which the statute states "the Secretary may make such appointments without regard to the civil-service laws or regulations: * * 3. The establishments which are created under statutes which place the power of appointment in the President of the United States. The National Industrial Recovery Administration is an illustration, the authority reading: "Section 2. (a) To effectuate the policy of this title, the President is hereby authorized to establish such agencies, to accept and utilize such voluntary and uncompensated services, to appoint, without regard to the provisions of the civilservice laws, such officers and employees, and to utilize such Federal officers and employees, and, with the consent of the State, such State and local officers and employees, as he may find necessary, to prescribe their authorities, duties, responsibilities, and tenure, and, without regard to the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, to fix the compensation of any officers and employees so appointed." As to class 1, the opinion of the Attorney General of June 28, 1934, is to the effect that Congress having granted authority under the Constitution to the Secretary of Agriculture to make appointments in the Agricultural Adjustment Administration without regard to the civil-service rules, the President is without authority to place such positions in the classified civil service. As to class 2, there can be no question as the direction of Congress is in mandatory language. As to class 3, no statement may be made at this time as to whether or not the President by Executive order may place the positions in the classified service, or whether or not such action must be taken by Congress as in the case of establishments referred to in class 2 where the exemption is in mandatory language. IF S. 564 SHOULD BECOME LAW If S. 564 should become law the procedure which would be followed by the Civil Service Commission as to each establishment of the Government would involve conference with the administration officers in charge of the establishment in order to secure adequate information as to functions, duties, and conditions of employment therein. Upon study of this information, the Commission would follow its usual practice in similar cases of joining with the officers of the establishment in a report to the President with recommendation as to which positions in that establishment should be exempted from competition. (The statements containing the number of civil-service employees are attached hereto.) Mr. MITCHELL. In a general way the Civil Service Commission, in fact as a whole the Civil Service Commission, is favorable to the bill, and thoroughly approves of it. Á suggestion has been made that there might be and, of course, that is a matter for the committee to change a better chance for the passage of this bill if it provided that the President could by Executive order include all of those people who are now ouside the merit system rather than by the excepting provision for the inclusion under the bill. Senator LOGAN. In other words, it should be left to the President as to whether he would include them by an Executive order? Mr. MITCHELL. Yes. Senator LOGAN. Than to have an examination such as is provided for? Mr. MITCHELL. No; the examination is all right, but my point is, instead of bringing them all in by your bill, that the bill merely provide that they will be brought in if the President sees fit by Executive order; in other words, sweeping away all the prohibitions that are now on the President. It is just possible that as to some of the new agencies, whose status is not fully determined in the Government set-up, that it might not be advisable to bring them in at this time. We are not objecting to the bill. The Civil Service Commission is thoroughly in favor of your bill, but that suggestion has been made, and I am putting it up for your consideration. Senator LOGAN. That is proper. I would be very glad to have any suggestion coming from anyone who is familiar with the matter, and I am not as familiar with the civil-service laws and the rules and regulations as you are, of course, but that suggestion will be considered by the committee, I am quite sure. Is there any other suggestion as to provisions of the bill? Senator LOGAN. Mr. Steward, did you desire to ask Mr. Mitchell any questions? STATEMENT OF LUTHER C. STEWARD, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES Mr. STEWARD. No, sir. I had some conference with Mr. Mitchell on the subject, and the material he has offered I am sure will cover everything which we felt was important. Senator LOGAN. I am pretty sure that will cover everything. I certainly appreciate your coming over, Mr. Mitchell. We are very much interested in this matter, and I know you are. Senator Dieterich is out of town. We are the only two that are present. Senator White, Mr. Mitchell has filed some data there and made some suggestions to the effect that the Civil Service Commission is in thorough accord with the provisions of the bill. Now, Mr. Steward, we will proceed if you will please give us another appearance, unless you want to appear yourself. Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Chairman, I would like to present at this time Mrs. Harris T. Baldwin, representing the National League of Women Voters. Senator LOGAN. All right, Mrs. Baldwin, you may make any statement that you desire in relation to the matter that we are considering now. STATEMENT OF MRS. HARRIS T. BALDWIN, REPRESENTINg the NATIONAL LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS Mrs. BALDWIN. I should like to start first by saying that we, the National League of Women Voters, are very much encouraged because you have introduced this bill, and we see in this bill a recognition of the need for better-trained personnel in all branches of Government, Federal, State, and local. The interests of the National League of Women Voters in civil service dates from the earliest days of its organization. Since 1922 we have supported the "merit system in civil service." Our experience has taught us that the wisest of laws can be nullified, and the best forms of administrative organization undermined by the appointment of incompetent and unqualified personnel. And I should like to insert here that it is not only our experience right here in Washington but it is the experience of the members of |