I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7369 

To provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection with adequate flexibility 

in its employment authorities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2024 

Mr. CISCOMANI (for himself and Mr. STANTON) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 

A BILL 

To provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection with 

adequate flexibility in its employment authorities. 

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 ‘‘U.S. Customs and Bor5 der Protection Hiring and Retention Act of 2024’’ or the 

6 ‘‘CBP HiRe Act of 2024’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FLEXIBILITY IN EMPLOYMENT AUTHORITIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 97 of title 5, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘§ 9702. U.S. Customs and Border Protection employ2 ment authorities 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

4 ‘‘(1) the term ‘CBP employee’ means an em5 ployee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 

6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Commissioner’ means the Com7 missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 

8 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of 

9 the Office of Personnel Management; 

10 ‘‘(4) the term ‘rural or remote area’ means an 

11 area within the United States that is not within an 

12 area defined and designated as an urbanized area by 

13 the Bureau of the Census in the most recently com14 pleted decennial census; and 

15 ‘‘(5) the term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary 

16 of Homeland Security. 

17 ‘‘(b) DEMONSTRATION OF RECRUITMENT AND RE18 TENTION DIFFICULTIES IN RURAL OR REMOTE AREAS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of sub20 sections (c) and (d), the Secretary shall determine, 

21 for a rural or remote area, whether there is— 

22 ‘‘(A) a critical hiring need in the area; and 

23 ‘‘(B) a direct relationship between— 

24 ‘‘(i) the rural or remote nature of the 

25 area; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) difficulty in the recruitment and 

2 retention of CBP employees in the area. 

3 ‘‘(2) FACTORS.—To inform the determination 

4 of a direct relationship under paragraph (1)(B), the 

5 Secretary may consider evidence— 

6 ‘‘(A) that the Secretary— 

7 ‘‘(i) is unable to efficiently and effec8 tively recruit individuals for positions as 

9 CBP employees, which may be dem10 onstrated with various types of evidence, 

11 including— 

12 ‘‘(I) evidence that multiple posi13 tions have been continuously vacant 

14 for significantly longer than the na15 tional average period for which similar 

16 positions in U.S. Customs and Border 

17 Protection are vacant; and 

18 ‘‘(II) recruitment studies that 

19 demonstrate the inability of the Sec20 retary to efficiently and effectively re21 cruit CBP employees for positions in 

22 the area; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) experiences a consistent inability 

24 to retain CBP employees that negatively 


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1 impacts agency operations at a local or re2 gional level; or 

3 ‘‘(B) of any other inability, directly related 

4 to recruitment or retention difficulties, that the 

5 Secretary determines sufficient. 

6 ‘‘(c) DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY; RECRUITMENT AND

7 RELOCATION BONUSES; RETENTION BONUSES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

10 appoint, without regard to any provision of sec11 tions 3309 through 3319, candidates to posi12 tions in the competitive service as CBP employ13 ees, in a rural or remote area, if the Sec14 retary— 

15 ‘‘(i) determines that— 

16 ‘‘(I) there is a critical hiring 

17 need; and 

18 ‘‘(II) there exists a severe short19 age of qualified candidates because of 

20 the direct relationship identified by 

21 the Secretary under subsection 

22 (b)(1)(B) of this section between— 

23 ‘‘(aa) the rural or remote 

24 nature of the area; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) difficulty in the re2 cruitment and retention of CBP 

3 employees in the area; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) has given public notice for the 

5 positions. 

6 ‘‘(B) PRIORITIZATION OF HIRING VET7 ERANS.—If the Secretary uses the direct hiring 

8 authority under subparagraph (A), the Sec9 retary shall apply the principles of preference 

10 for the hiring of veterans established under sub11 chapter I of chapter 33. 

12 ‘‘(2) RECRUITMENT AND RELOCATION BO13 NUSES.—The Secretary may pay a bonus to an indi14 vidual (other than an individual described in sub15 section (a)(2) of section 5753) if— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that— 

17 ‘‘(i) conditions consistent with the 

18 conditions described in paragraphs (1) and 

19 (2) of subsection (b) of such section 5753 

20 are satisfied with respect to the individual 

21 (without regard to any other provision of 

22 that section); and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the position to which the indi24 vidual is appointed or to which the indi25 vidual moves or must relocate— 


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1 ‘‘(I) is a position as a CBP em2 ployee; and 

3 ‘‘(II) is in a rural or remote area 

4 for which the Secretary has identified 

5 a direct relationship under subsection 

6 (b)(1)(B) of this section between— 

7 ‘‘(aa) the rural or remote 

8 nature of the area; and 

9 ‘‘(bb) difficulty in the re10 cruitment and retention of CBP 

11 employees in the area; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the individual enters into a written 

13 service agreement with the Secretary— 

14 ‘‘(i) under which the individual is re15 quired to complete a period of employment 

16 as a CBP employee of not less than 2 

17 years; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) that includes— 

19 ‘‘(I) the commencement and ter20 mination dates of the required service 

21 period (or provisions for the deter22 mination thereof); 

23 ‘‘(II) the amount of the bonus; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(III) other terms and conditions 

2 under which the bonus is payable, 

3 subject to the requirements of this 

4 subsection, including— 

5 ‘‘(aa) the conditions under 

6 which the agreement may be ter7 minated before the agreed-upon 

8 service period has been com9 pleted; and 

10 ‘‘(bb) the effect of a termi11 nation described in item (aa). 

12 ‘‘(3) RETENTION BONUSES.—The Secretary 

13 may pay a retention bonus to a CBP employee 

14 (other than an individual described in subsection 

15 (a)(2) of section 5754) if— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that— 

17 ‘‘(i) a condition consistent with the 

18 condition described in subsection (b)(1) of 

19 such section 5754 is satisfied with respect 

20 to the CBP employee (without regard to 

21 any other provision of that section); 

22 ‘‘(ii) the CBP employee is employed in 

23 a rural or remote area for which the Sec24 retary has identified a direct relationship 


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1 under subsection (b)(1)(B) of this section 

2 between— 

3 ‘‘(I) the rural or remote nature 

4 of the area; and 

5 ‘‘(II) difficulty in the recruitment 

6 and retention of CBP employees in 

7 the area; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) in the absence of a retention 

9 bonus, the CBP employee would be likely 

10 to leave— 

11 ‘‘(I) the Federal service; or 

12 ‘‘(II) for a different position in 

13 the Federal service, including a posi14 tion in another agency or component 

15 of the Department of Homeland Secu16 rity; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the individual enters into a written 

18 service agreement with the Secretary— 

19 ‘‘(i) under which the individual is re20 quired to complete a period of employment 

21 as a CBP employee of not less than 2 

22 years; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) that includes— 

24 ‘‘(I) the commencement and ter25 mination dates of the required service 


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1 period (or provisions for the deter2 mination thereof); 

3 ‘‘(II) the amount of the bonus; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(III) other terms and conditions 

6 under which the bonus is payable, 

7 subject to the requirements of this 

8 subsection, including— 

9 ‘‘(aa) the conditions under 

10 which the agreement may be ter11 minated before the agreed-upon 

12 service period has been com13 pleted; and 

14 ‘‘(bb) the effect of a termi15 nation described in item (aa). 

16 ‘‘(4) RULES FOR BONUSES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) MAXIMUM BONUS.—A bonus paid to 

18 an employee under— 

19 ‘‘(i) paragraph (2) may not exceed 

20 100 percent of the annual rate of basic pay 

21 of the employee as of the commencement 

22 date of the applicable service period; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) paragraph (3) may not exceed 50 

24 percent of the annual rate of basic pay of 


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1 the employee as of the commencement date 

2 of the applicable service period. 

3 ‘‘(B) RELATION TO BASIC PAY.—A bonus 

4 paid to an employee under paragraph (2) or (3) 

5 shall not be considered part of the basic pay of 

6 the employee for any purpose. 

7 ‘‘(5) OPM OVERSIGHT.—The Director shall, to 

8 the extent practicable— 

9 ‘‘(A) set aside a determination of the Sec10 retary under this subsection if the Director 

11 finds substantial evidence that the Secretary 

12 abused the discretion of the Secretary in mak13 ing the determination; and 

14 ‘‘(B) oversee the compliance of the Sec15 retary with this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL PAY AUTHORITY.—In addition to the 

17 circumstances described in subsection (b) of section 5305, 

18 the Director may establish special rates of pay in accord19 ance with that section if the Director finds that the re20 cruitment or retention efforts of the Secretary with respect 

21 to positions for CBP employees in an area or location are, 

22 or are likely to become, significantly handicapped because 

23 the positions are located in a rural or remote area for 

24 which the Secretary has identified a direct relationship 

25 under subsection (b)(1)(B) of this section between— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the rural or remote nature of the area; and 

2 ‘‘(2) difficulty in the recruitment and retention 

3 of CBP employees in the area. 

4 ‘‘(e) REGULAR CBP REVIEW.— 

5 ‘‘(1) ENSURING FLEXIBILITIES MEET CBP

6 NEEDS.—Each year, the Secretary shall review the 

7 use of hiring flexibilities under subsections (c) and 

8 (d) to fill positions at a location in a rural or remote 

9 area to determine— 

10 ‘‘(A) the impact of the use of those flexi11 bilities on solving hiring and retention chal12 lenges at the location; 

13 ‘‘(B) whether hiring and retention chal14 lenges still exist at the location; and 

15 ‘‘(C) whether the Secretary needs to con16 tinue to use those flexibilities at the location. 

17 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION.—In conducting the re18 view under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall con19 sider— 

20 ‘‘(A) whether any CBP employee accepted 

21 an employment incentive under subsection (c) 

22 or (d) and then transferred to a new location or 

23 left U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the length of time that each employee 

25 identified under subparagraph (A) stayed at the 


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1 original location before transferring to a new lo2 cation or leaving U.S. Customs and Border 

3 Protection. 

4 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall sub5 mit to Congress a report on each review required 

6 under paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(f) IMPROVING CBP HIRING AND RETENTION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) EDUCATION OF CBP HIRING OFFICIALS.— 

9 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

10 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Hiring 

11 and Retention Act of 2024 and in conjunction with 

12 the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department 

13 of Homeland Security, the Secretary shall develop 

14 and implement a strategy to improve education re15 garding hiring and human resources flexibilities (in16 cluding hiring and human resources flexibilities for 

17 locations in rural or remote areas) for all employees, 

18 serving in agency headquarters or field offices, who 

19 are involved in the recruitment, hiring, assessment, 

20 or selection of candidates for locations in a rural or 

21 remote area, as well as the retention of current em22 ployees. 

23 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Elements of the strategy 

24 under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Developing or updating training and 

2 educational materials on hiring and human re3 sources flexibilities for employees who are in4 volved in the recruitment, hiring, assessment, or 

5 selection of candidates, as well as the retention 

6 of current employees. 

7 ‘‘(B) Regular training sessions for per8 sonnel who are critical to filling open positions 

9 in rural or remote areas. 

10 ‘‘(C) The development of pilot programs or 

11 other programs, as appropriate, to address 

12 identified hiring challenges in rural or remote 

13 areas. 

14 ‘‘(D) Developing and enhancing strategic 

15 recruiting efforts through relationships with in16 stitutions of higher education, as defined in sec17 tion 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1002), veterans transition and em19 ployment centers, and job placement program 

20 in regions that could assist in filling positions 

21 in rural or remote areas. 

22 ‘‘(E) Examination of existing agency pro23 grams on how to most effectively aid spouses 

24 and families of individuals who are candidates 

25 or new hires in a rural or remote area. 


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1 ‘‘(F) Feedback from individuals who are 

2 candidates or new hires at locations in a rural 

3 or remote area, including feedback on the qual4 ity of life in rural or remote areas for new hires 

5 and their families. 

6 ‘‘(G) Feedback from CBP employees, other 

7 than new hires, who are stationed at locations 

8 in a rural or remote area, including feedback on 

9 the quality of life in rural or remote areas for 

10 those CBP employees and their families. 

11 ‘‘(H) Evaluation of Department of Home12 land Security internship programs and the use13 fulness of those programs in improving hiring 

14 by the Secretary in rural or remote areas. 

15 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the Sec17 retary shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) evaluate the extent to which the 

19 strategy developed and implemented under 

20 paragraph (1) has improved the hiring and 

21 retention ability of the Secretary; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) make any appropriate updates to 

23 the strategy under paragraph (1). 

24 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION.—The evaluation con25 ducted under subparagraph (A) shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) any reduction in the time taken 

2 by the Secretary to fill mission-critical po3 sitions in rural or remote areas; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a general assessment of the im5 pact of the strategy developed and imple6 mented under paragraph (1) on hiring 

7 challenges in rural or remote areas; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) other information the Secretary 

9 determines relevant. 

10 ‘‘(g) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.—Not later than 

11 2 years after the date of enactment of the U.S. Customs 

12 and Border Protection Hiring and Retention Act of 2024, 

13 the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Se14 curity shall review the use of hiring flexibilities by the Sec15 retary under subsections (c) and (d) to determine whether 

16 the use of those flexibilities is helping the Secretary meet 

17 hiring and retention needs in rural and remote areas. 

18 ‘‘(h) REPORT ON POLYGRAPH REQUESTS.—The Sec19 retary shall report to Congress on the number of requests 

20 the Secretary receives from any other Federal agency for 

21 the file of an applicant for a position in U.S. Customs 

22 and Border Protection that includes the results of a poly23 graph examination. 

24 ‘‘(i) DELEGATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

2 the Secretary may delegate any authority under this 

3 section to the Commissioner. 

4 ‘‘(2) OVERSIGHT.—The Commissioner may not 

5 make a determination under subsection (b)(1) unless 

6 the Secretary approves the determination. 

7 ‘‘(j) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec8 tion shall be construed to exempt the Secretary or the Di9 rector from the applicability of the merit system principles 

10 under section 2301. 

11 ‘‘(k) SUNSET.—The authorities under subsections (c) 

12 and (d) shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after 

13 the date of enactment of the U.S. Customs and Border 

14 Protection Hiring and Retention Act of 2024.’’. 

15 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

16 The table of sections for chapter 97 of title 5, United 

17 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

‘‘9702. U.S. Customs and Border Protection employment authorities.’’. 

19 (c) UPDATE.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security shall update the U.S. Customs and Border Pro22 tection Office of Field Operations staff model to take into 

23 account changes to mission requirements in a post-COVID 

24 era and conditions at the Ports of Entry. 


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1 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON STUDENT LOAN REPAY2 MENTS.—It is the sense of the Congress that any em3 ployee hired pursuant to section 9702 of title 5, United 

4 States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this Act, should 

5 receive student loan repayments under section 5379 of 

6 such title. 

Æ 


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