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HR 8703 116th Congress House Government Operations and Politics Administrative law and regulatory procedures Employee hiring Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management Higher education Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

Federal Skills Act

Introduced: October 30, 2020 Introduced by: Budd, Ted Republican · North Carolina See on congress.gov
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This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Oct 30, 2020
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Oct 30, 2020
Introduced in House
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Federal Skills Act

This bill provides statutory authority for the executive order titled Modernizing and Reforming the Assessment and Hiring of Federal Job Candidates, which was issued on June 26, 2020. The order generally prescribes certain limits as to the consideration and use of post-high school educational requirements for positions in the competitive service.

Among other things, the order specifies that an executive agency may only institute a minimum educational requirement for a position in the competitive service if it is legally required for the position, and may only consider a candidate's education with respect to other minimum requirements if it directly reflects the competencies necessary for the position.

The order requires the Office of Personnel Management to review and revise the classification and qualification standards for positions in the competitive service so as to comply with these requirements. The order also requires changes to be made public, and to take effect, within 120 days and 180 days of the date of the order, respectively. (The bill requires a similar timeline with respect to the date of enactment of the bill.)

What's happening now October 30, 2020

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 8703: Federal Skills Act. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-8703/
MLA
"H.R. 8703: Federal Skills Act." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-8703/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 8703, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-8703/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 8703: Federal Skills Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-8703/)
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