Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and Ranking Member James Comer
Committee on Oversight and Reform
Washington DC, 20515
Re: Written Comments for May 11, 2022 Business Meeting
Dear Chairwoman Maloney, Ranking Member Comer, and Members of the Committee:
On behalf of the Professional Managers Association (PMA) – the non-profit professional association that has, since 1981, represented professional managers, management officials, and non-bargaining unit employees at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – I write to provide PMA’s perspective on several bills being considered for the May 11 business meeting.
H.R. 6104, the Building the Next Generation of Federal Employees Act
PMA strenuously supports any and all efforts which encourage Americans to join the Civil Service. With less than 7% of the federal workforce under age 30, the federal government must streamline the federal hiring and internship processes and make it easier, fairer, and advantageous for Americans to join public service.
H.R. ____, the Artificial Intelligence Training for the Acquisition Workforce Act
As the IRS looks to implement the Taxpayer First Act and rely on AI-based technologies to enhance customer service, PMA encourages the House to take up this important bill to ensure that IRS procurement workers have the up-to-date technical knowledge required to make efficient, effective contracting decisions.
H.R. 4176, the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act
PMA supports all efforts to have consistent, reliable Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) data - particularly for the federal workforce. People of marginalized genders, gender identities, and sexual orientations experience widespread bias in the federal workplace - so much that many people hide their identities to the extent possible. The stress, isolation, and job dissatisfaction that follows is well documented. With regular data collection, we will have a more fulsome understanding of this dynamic and how it hampers recruiting and retention efforts across the Civil Service.
H.R. 7331, the Improving Government for America’s Taxpayers Act
To the extent GAO's recommendations can be centralized, more easily researched, and that the budgetary impact of those recommendations can be known, PMA supports any step in the direction of increased transparency. GAO has helped to improve IRS operational efficiency and continues to recommend for many of the same improvements central to our advocacy. We believe that H.R. 7331 would help Congress better under the business case for these recommendations.
Thank you for your consideration of PMA’s perspective. Please contact PMA Washington Representative Natalia Castro (ncastro@shawbransford.com) if we can be of further assistance on these matters.
Sincerely,
Chad Hooper
Executive Director
