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NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023
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speech of
HON. ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT
of virginia
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to several provisions included in this year's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Reauthorization, although ultimately, I will vote in favor for final passage of the bill.
First, I oppose Amendment 640, considered on the floor as part of en bloc Amendment 5, which directs the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) to reclassify public safety telecommunications officers, also called 911 dispatchers, as a protective service occupation in the U.S. Government's Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. This Amendment would have no direct effect on these workers' wages, benefits, or other resources; proponents of this reclassification have stated that it ``would provide validation.''
The SOC classification system is a federal statistical standard used across agencies in data collection. According to OMB, ``[t]he-SOC is designed exclusively for statistical purposes.'' Changes to the codes affect multiple data sources frequently used by policymakers, researchers, and employers, including the American Community Survey, the nation's largest household survey; the Current Population Survey
(CPS), the key source of our monthly employment numbers; and the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), the authoritative source of employment and wage information by occupation. These changes would undermine the intent and legitimacy of the SOC by deviating from the long-established process designed to ensure the objectivity and integrity statistical data classifications more broadly.
A standing committee at OMB, the SOC Policy Committee (SOCPC), is responsible for maintaining the accuracy of these codes using well-
defined principles. The SOCPC undertakes a routine revision of the codes roughly once per decade; the process spans multiple years and
``involves extensive background research, periods or public comment, review of comments, and implementation of revisions.'' During its latest revision, which began in early 2012 and was finalized in 2018, OMB specifically rejected comments requesting it reclassify 911 dispatchers as directed in Amendment 640. In response to public comments presented in the May 2014 Federal Register, the Obama Administration's OMB explained it ``did not accept these recommendations based on Classification Principle 2, which states that workers are coded according to the work performed. The work performed is that of a dispatcher, not a first responder.''
In 2016, OMB declined a similar request for reclassification. Based on the principles OMB's policy committee applies to determine SOC codes, 911 telephone dispatchers are already properly and accurately classified. This point was reiterated in communications with the Education and Labor Committee in 2021, explaining, ``After an extensive technical review of the requested reclassification for 911 dispatchers, OMB, consistent with the recommendation of the Chief Statistician of the United States, decided not to make such an adjustment because it is inconsistent with the statistical purposes of the SOC.''
Furthermore, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in a written communication with the Education and Labor Committee on September 15, 2021, reported that the change made by H.R. 1175, a bill identical to Amendment 640, ``will introduce costly, unnecessary logistical and data interpretation delays and challenges affecting the quality of data.'' Moreover, changes outside of the routine revision process would undermine the goal of data continuity, limiting data sources' usefulness for their key purpose of statistical analysis; create precedent for disrupting the standard SOC revision process; and undermine the SOCPC's authority as experts to apply the classification principles to determine what accuracy requires.
Public safety telecommunications officers perform critical, challenging work. They deserve our honor and gratitude for their efforts. However, considering the many alternative ways policymakers could confer ``validation,'' as the proponents are seeking, there is little policy justification for this Amendment's approach to achieving that goal. Furthermore, the SOC is not intended to rank or group occupations by education, credentials, earnings, benefits, or any other user-defined indicator of status.
In conclusion, mandating a change to a statistical code would not affect these workers' wages, benefits, or other resources--but it would disrupt data series continuity; require significant additional work for government agencies, researchers, employers, and others; and intervene in an official, routine government data-collection and statistical process.
Second, I oppose language in the bill, added by Amendment 113 considered on the floor as part of the en bloc Amendment 2, which would expand the Troops-to-Teachers program from recruiting veterans to become teachers, to recruiting veterans to fill a longer list of school-based positions including school resource officers (SROs). Increasing the presence of SROs can have a particularly harmful effect on students of color and students with disabilities. Nationally, Black and Latinx youth make up over 58 percent of school-based arrests while representing only 40 percent of public school enrollment, and Black students are more than twice as likely to be referred to law enforcement or arrested at school as their white peers. According to a 2018 study by GAO, Black students, boys, and students with disabilities are also disproportionately disciplined in K-12 public schools.
Moreover, the amendment removes crucial language from the definition of ``eligible school'' which would target resources to high-poverty schools. This is concerning with regard to the recruitment of key positions such as teachers, school leaders, and counselors to meet the needs of students in high-poverty schools, particularly as high-poverty schools have been disproportionately impacted by recent staffing shortages.
Finally, I oppose section 572 of the bill, added to NDAA during the full committee markup of the bill on June 23. The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) plays a critical role in educating the children of our nation's military families. Across the globe, DoDEA coordinates the education of more than 60,000 children. Importantly, the DoDEA also stands apart from other public-school districts as one of only two federally operated K-12 school systems.
As a result, while it is within the federal government's purview to implement the proposed requirements for DoDEA schools under this legislation, these proposed requirements would be inappropriate to impose on traditional public school districts. This is a unique exception in our education system. Moving forward, Congress must continue to ensure that state and local governments can meet the unique needs of their students and parents without mandating requirements regarding the rights of parents.
While I support the overall passage of NDAA, I remain opposed to these three provisions.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 116(1), Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 116(2)
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