Senior Executive Service: Background and Options for Reform

Congress created the SES in 1978 to provide a government-wide, mobile corps of managers within federal agencies. The SES, comprising mostly career appointees who are chosen through a merit staffing process, is the link between the politically appointed heads of agencies and the career civil servants within those agencies. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA) incentivized good performance among senior executives by basing their compensation on their performance. The CSRA tasked the creation and distribution of SES positions within the government to the Office of Personnel Mgt. (OPM), which was also established by the CSRA. The SES includes most of the government's managerial and policy positions above the General Schedule (GS) grade 15. More than three decades after its existence, the SES still serves as the link between political appointees who run agencies and the career government workers in the agencies. Contents of this report: (1) History of the SES; Federal Personnel Management Project; Goals of the SES; Creation of the SES; (2) Features of the SES: SES Structure: Types of Positions and Appointments; SES and the Role of OPM; Entering the SES: Career Appointments; Mobility and Rank-In-Person; SES Pay; (3) Options for Reform; (4) Recent Initiatives; (5) 112th Congress. Tables. This is a print on demand report.