II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3476 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish employee 

professional development programs at the Department of Homeland Security. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 7, 2006 

Mr. AKAKA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish 

employee professional development programs at the Department of Homeland Security. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Homeland Security 

5 Professional Development Act of 2006’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP2 MENT PROGRAMS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF 

3 HOMELAND SECURITY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VIII of the Homeland Secu5 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 361 et seq.) is amended by 

6 inserting after section 843 the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 844. HOMELAND SECURITY MENTORING PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec11 retary shall establish the Homeland Security Men12 toring Program (in this section referred to as the 

13 ‘Mentoring Program’) for employees of the Depart14 ment. The Mentoring Program shall use applicable 

15 best practices, including those from the Chief 

16 Human Capital Officers Council. 

17 ‘‘(2) GOALS.—The Mentoring Program estab18 lished by the Secretary— 

19 ‘‘(A) shall be established in accordance 

20 with the Department Human Capital Strategic 

21 Plan; 

22 ‘‘(B) shall incorporate Department human 

23 capital strategic plans and activities, and ad24 dress critical human capital deficiencies, re25 cruitment and retention efforts, and succession 


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1 planning within the Federal workforce of the 

2 Department; 

3 ‘‘(C) shall enable employees within the De4 partment to share expertise, values, skills, re5 sources, perspectives, attitudes and proficiencies 

6 to develop and foster a cadre of qualified em7 ployees and future leaders; 

8 ‘‘(D) shall incorporate clear learning goals, 

9 objectives, meeting schedules, and feedback 

10 processes that will help employees, managers, 

11 and executives enhance skills and knowledge of 

12 the Department while reaching professional and 

13 personal goals; 

14 ‘‘(E) shall enhance professional relation15 ships, contacts, and networking opportunities 

16 among the employees of the Department; 

17 ‘‘(F) shall complement and incorporate 

18 (but not replace) mentoring and training pro19 grams within the Department in effect on the 

20 date of enactment of this section; and 

21 ‘‘(G) may promote cross-disciplinary men22 toring and training opportunities that include 

23 provisions for intradepartmental rotational op24 portunities, in accordance with human capital 

25 goals and plans that foster a more diversified 


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1 and effective Federal workforce of the Depart2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(3) TRAINING LEADERS COUNCIL.— 

4 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Training 

5 Leaders Council established by the Chief 

6 Human Capital Officer shall administer the 

7 Mentoring Program. 

8 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Training 

9 Leaders Council shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) provide oversight of the establish11 ment and implementation of the Mentoring 

12 Program; 

13 ‘‘(ii) establish a framework that sup14 ports the goals of the Mentoring Program 

15 and promotes cross-disciplinary mentoring 

16 and training; 

17 ‘‘(iii) identify potential candidates to 

18 be mentors or mentees and select can19 didates for admission into the Mentoring 

20 Program; 

21 ‘‘(iv) formalize mentoring assignments 

22 within the Department; 

23 ‘‘(v) formulate individual development 

24 plans that reflect the needs of the Depart25 ment, the mentor, and the mentee; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) coordinate with mentoring pro2 grams in the Department in effect on the 

3 date of enactment of this section; and 

4 ‘‘(vii) establish target enrollment 

5 numbers for the size and scope of the Men6 toring Program, under the human capital 

7 goals and plans of the Department. 

8 ‘‘(4) SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS FOR MEN9 TORING PROGRAM.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Mentoring Pro11 gram shall consist of middle and senior level 

12 employees of the Department with significant 

13 experience who shall serve as mentors for junior 

14 and entry level employees and employees who 

15 are critical to Department succession plans and 

16 programs. 

17 ‘‘(B) SELECTION OF MENTORS.—Mentors 

18 shall be employees who— 

19 ‘‘(i) understand the organization and 

20 culture of the Department; 

21 ‘‘(ii) understand the aims of men22 toring in Federal public service; 

23 ‘‘(iii) are available and willing to 

24 spend time with the mentee, giving appro25 priate guidance and feedback; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) enjoy helping others and are 

2 open-minded, flexible, empathetic, and en3 couraging; and 

4 ‘‘(v) have very good communications 

5 skills, and stimulate the thinking and re6 flection of mentees. 

7 ‘‘(C) SELECTION OF MENTEES.—Mentees 

8 shall be motivated employees who possess po9 tential for future leadership and management 

10 roles within the Department. 

11 ‘‘(5) ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PAR12 TICIPANTS IN THE MENTORING PROGRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(A) MENTORS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) ROLE.—A mentor shall serve as a 

15 model, motivator, and counselor to a 

16 mentee. 

17 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—Any person who is 

18 the immediate supervisor of an employee 

19 and evaluates the performance of that em20 ployee may not be a mentor to that em21 ployee under the Mentor Program. 

22 ‘‘(iii) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The re23 sponsibilities of a mentor may include— 


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1 ‘‘(I) helping the mentee set 

2 short-term learning objectives and 

3 long-term career goals; 

4 ‘‘(II) helping the mentee under5 stand the organizational culture of the 

6 Department; 

7 ‘‘(III) recommending or creating 

8 learning opportunities; 

9 ‘‘(IV) providing informal edu10 cation and training in areas such as 

11 communication, critical thinking, re12 sponsibility, flexibility, and teamwork; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(V) pointing out the strengths 

15 and areas for development of the 

16 mentee. 

17 ‘‘(B) MENTEES.—The responsibilities of 

18 the mentee may include— 

19 ‘‘(i) defining short-term learning ob20 jectives and long-term career goals; 

21 ‘‘(ii) participating in learning opportu22 nities to broaden knowledge of the Depart23 ment; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) participating in professional op25 portunities to improve a particular career 


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1 area, develop an area of technical exper2 tise, grow professionally, and expand lead3 ership abilities. 

4 ‘‘(6) REPORTING.—Not later than 180 days 

5 after the date of the establishment of the Mentoring 

6 Program, the Secretary shall submit a report on the 

7 status of the Mentoring Program and enrollment, in8 cluding the number of mentors and mentees in each 

9 component of the Department and how the Men10 toring Program is being used in succession planning 

11 and leadership development to— 

12 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

13 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

14 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

15 of the House of Representatives; and 

16 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Government Re17 form of the House of Representatives. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 845. HOMELAND SECURITY ROTATION PROGRAM. 

19 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec22 retary shall establish the Homeland Security Rota23 tion Program (in this section referred to as the ‘Ro24 tation Program’) for employees of the Department. 

25 The Rotation Program shall use applicable best 


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1 practices, including those from the Chief Human 

2 Capital Officers Council. 

3 ‘‘(2) GOALS.—The Rotation Program estab4 lished by the Secretary shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) be established in accordance with the 

6 Department Human Capital Strategic Plan; 

7 ‘‘(B) provide middle level employees in the 

8 Department the opportunity to broaden their 

9 knowledge through exposure to other compo10 nents of the Department; 

11 ‘‘(C) expand the knowledge base of the De12 partment by providing for rotational assign13 ments of employees to other components; 

14 ‘‘(D) build professional relationships and 

15 contacts among the employees in the Depart16 ment; 

17 ‘‘(E) invigorate the workforce with exciting 

18 and professionally rewarding opportunities; 

19 ‘‘(F) incorporate Department human cap20 ital strategic plans and activities, and address 

21 critical human capital deficiencies, recruitment 

22 and retention efforts, and succession planning 

23 within the Federal workforce of the Depart24 ment; and 


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1 ‘‘(G) complement and incorporate (but not 

2 replace) rotational programs within the Depart3 ment in effect on the date of enactment of this 

4 section. 

5 ‘‘(3) TRAINING LEADERS COUNCIL.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Training Leaders 

7 Council established by the Chief Human Capital 

8 Officer shall administer the Rotation Program. 

9 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Training 

10 Leaders Council shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) provide oversight of the establish12 ment and implementation of the Rotation 

13 Program; 

14 ‘‘(ii) establish a framework that sup15 ports the goals of the Rotation Program 

16 and promotes cross-disciplinary rotational 

17 opportunities; 

18 ‘‘(iii) establish eligibility for employees 

19 to participate in the Rotation Program and 

20 select participants from employees who 

21 apply; 

22 ‘‘(iv) establish incentives for employ23 ees to participate in the Rotation Program, 

24 including promotions and employment 

25 preferences; 


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1 ‘‘(v) ensure that the Rotation Pro2 gram provides professional education and 

3 training; 

4 ‘‘(vi) ensure that the Rotation Pro5 gram develops qualified employees and fu6 ture leaders with broad-based experience 

7 throughout the Department; 

8 ‘‘(vii) provide for greater interaction 

9 among employees in components of the De10 partment; and 

11 ‘‘(viii) coordinate with rotational pro12 grams within the Department in effect on 

13 the date of enactment of this section. 

14 ‘‘(4) ALLOWANCES, PRIVILEGES, AND BENE15 FITS.—All allowances, privileges, rights, seniority, 

16 and other benefits of employees participating in the 

17 Rotation Program shall be preserved. 

18 ‘‘(5) REPORTING.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of the establishment of the Rotation 

20 Program, the Secretary shall submit a report on the 

21 status of the Rotation Program, including a descrip22 tion of the Rotation Program, the number of em23 ployees participating, and how the Rotation Program 

24 is used in succession planning and leadership devel25 opment to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

2 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

3 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

4 of the House of Representatives; and 

5 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Government Re6 form of the House of Representatives.’’. 

7 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

8 Section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

9 U.S.C. 101) is amended by inserting after the item relat10 ing to section 843 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 844. Homeland Security Mentoring Program. 

‘‘Sec. 845. Homeland Security Rotation Program.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 41 of title 5, United 

13 States Code is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 4122. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

16 ‘‘The Director of the Office of Personnel Manage17 ment shall report annually to the Committee on Homeland 

18 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 

19 Committee on Government Reform of the House of Rep20 resentatives on the training, mentoring, and succession 

21 plans and programs of Federal agencies, including the 

22 number of participants, the structure of the programs, 

23 and how participants are used for leadership development 

24 and succession planning programs.’’. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

2 The table of sections for chapter 41 of title 5, United 

3 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat4 ing to section 4121 the following: 

‘‘4122. Reports to Congress.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

7 as necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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