I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6738 

To provide for the appointment of fellows in the John S. McCain Strategic 

Defense Fellows Program to term excepted service positions, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 13, 2023 

Mr. BACON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To provide for the appointment of fellows in the John S. 

McCain Strategic Defense Fellows Program to term excepted service positions, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Strategic Defense Fel5 lows Program Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE JOHN S. MCCAIN STRATEGIC 

7 DEFENSE FELLOWS PROGRAM. 

8 (a) SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS.—Subsection 

9 (d)(2) of section 932 of the John S. McCain National DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:56 Dec 20, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6738.IH H6738
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1 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (Public Law 115– 

2 232; 10 U.S.C. 1580 note prec.) is amended to read as 

3 follows: 

4 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION.—Out 

5 of the total number of individuals selected to partici6 pate in the fellows program, which shall not exceed 

7 60 individuals in any year, no more than 20 percent 

8 may be from any of the following geographic regions: 

9 ‘‘(A) The Northeast United States. 

10 ‘‘(B) The Southeast United States. 

11 ‘‘(C) The Midwest United States. 

12 ‘‘(D) The Southwest United States. 

13 ‘‘(E) The Western United States. 

14 ‘‘(F) Alaska, Hawaii, United States terri15 tories, and areas outside the United States.’’. 

16 (b) APPOINTMENT AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT.— 

17 Such section is further amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (d)(3)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘assigned’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘appointed’’; and 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘assignment’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘appointment’’; and 

23 (2) by amending subsections (e) and (f) to read 

24 as follows: 

25 ‘‘(e) APPOINTMENT.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual who partici2 pates in the fellows program shall be appointed into 

3 an excepted service position in the Department. 

4 ‘‘(2) POSITION REQUIREMENTS.—Each year, 

5 the head of each Department of Defense Component 

6 shall submit to the Secretary of Defense placement 

7 opportunities for participants in the fellows pro8 gram. Such placement opportunities shall provide for 

9 leadership development and potential commencement 

10 of a career track toward a position of senior leader11 ship in the Department. The Secretary of Defense, 

12 in coordination with the heads of Department of De13 fense Components, shall establish qualification re14 quirements for the appointment of participants 

15 under paragraph (1). 

16 ‘‘(3) APPOINTMENT TO POSITIONS.—Each year, 

17 the Secretary of Defense shall appoint participants 

18 in the fellows program to positions in the Depart19 ment of Defense Components. In making such ap20 pointments, the Secretary shall seek to best match 

21 the qualifications and skills of the participants with 

22 the requirements for positions available for appoint23 ment. 

24 ‘‘(4) TERM.—The term of each appointment 

25 under the fellows program shall be one year with the 

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1 option to extend the appointment up to one addi2 tional year. 

3 ‘‘(5) GRADE.—An individual appointed to a po4 sition under the fellows program shall be appointed 

5 at a level between GS–10 and GS–12 of the General 

6 Schedule based on the directly related qualifications, 

7 skills, and professional experience of the individual. 

8 ‘‘(6) EDUCATION LOAN REPAYMENT.—To the 

9 extent that funds are provided in advance in appro10 priations Acts, the Secretary of Defense may repay 

11 a loan of a participant in the fellows program if the 

12 loan is described by subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) 

13 of section 16301(a)(1) of title 10, United States 

14 Code. Any repayment of a loan under this paragraph 

15 may require a minimum service agreement, as deter16 mined by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(7) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE COMPONENT

18 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘Depart19 ment of Defense Component’ means a Department 

20 of Defense Component, as set forth in section 111 

21 of title 10, United States Code. 

22 ‘‘(f) CAREER DEVELOPMENT.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense 

24 shall ensure that participants in the fellows pro25 gram— 

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1 ‘‘(A) receive career development opportuni2 ties and support appropriate for the commence3 ment of a career track within the Department 

4 leading toward a future position of senior lead5 ership within the Department, including ongo6 ing mentorship support through appropriate 

7 personnel from entities within the Department; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) are provided appropriate employment 

10 opportunities for competitive and excepted serv11 ice positions in the Department upon successful 

12 completion of the fellows program. 

13 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION OF SELECTION.—The Sec14 retary shall publish, on an internet website of the 

15 Department available to the public, the names of the 

16 individuals selected to participate in the fellows pro17 gram.’’. 

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