NEWS RELEASE

U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kay Coles James convened the first interagency task force meeting today to discuss Executive Order 13171, an Order that seeks to improve the recruitment of Hispanics into the federal work force. It also calls on agencies to offer improved career development opportunities for Hispanics.

"OPM is fully committed to President Bush's unequivocal commitment to ensure that the federal government provides an open merit-based system of opportunities for every American," said OPM Director Kay Coles James. She also said that "if we truly want government services to become more citizen-centered, then we need to make sure that the federal government continues to build and maintain a work force that reflects the rich diversity of our nation."

The Executive Order assigns responsibilities to federal agencies, requiring them to take steps to establish and maintain a program for the recruitment and career development of Hispanics in federal employment. These agency programs must reflect a continuing priority for eliminating Hispanic underrepresentation in the federal workforce and incorporate actions under the Order as strategies for achieving workforce diversity goals in the agency's Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Annual Performance Plan.

"It is clear that we need to look at what we are doing and figure out why initiatives agencies have followed in the past have not worked as well as they had stated or hoped, and to figure out what our next steps should be," said James. "As appointees and managers, our mission is clear - this is a problem and it is our responsibility to follow President Bush's lead and correct it."

In addition, the Executive Order continues ongoing policies and recommends additional policies to improve Hispanic representation in the federal government, and it calls for the continuance of the Nine-Point Plan Hispanic Employment Initiative and the recommendations incorporated into the Report to the President's Management Council on Hispanic Employment in the Federal Government.

Specific responsibilities assigned to OPM include establishing and chairing an Interagency Task Force, chaired by James, to carry out the various goals and responsibilities outlined in the Order, and issuing an annual report to the President with findings and recommendations on the progress made by agencies.

Studies published by OPM, the General Accounting Office and the Merit Systems Protection Board have recognized that Hispanics are underrepresented in the federal work force.