II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2901 

To improve the acquisition workforce through the establishment of an 

acquisition management fellows program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 17, 2009 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mrs. MCCASKILL, and Mr. BENNETT) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve the acquisition workforce through the establishment of an acquisition management fellows program, 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 ‘‘Acquisition Workforce 

5 Improvement Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GOVERNMENT-WIDE ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT 

7 FELLOWS PROGRAM. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Federal Pro2 curement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403 et seq.) is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following new sec4 tion: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 45. GOVERNMENT-WIDE ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT 

6 FELLOWS PROGRAM. 

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 

8 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Acquisi9 tion Workforce Improvement Act of 2009, the Adminis10 trator shall establish a government-wide acquisition man11 agement fellows program (in this section referred to as 

12 the ‘program’) for the purpose of investing in the long13 term improvement and sustained excellence of the Federal 

14 acquisition workforce. 

15 ‘‘(b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the program 

16 shall be as follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) To develop a new generation of acquisition 

18 leaders with government-wide perspective, skills, and 

19 experience. 

20 ‘‘(2) To recruit individuals with the outstanding 

21 academic merit, ethical value, business acumen, and 

22 leadership skills to meet the acquisition needs of the 

23 Federal Government. 

24 ‘‘(3) To offer, upon completion of the program, 

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1 pensation, and leadership opportunities at various 

2 executive agencies. 

3 ‘‘(c) STRUCTURE.— 

4 ‘‘(1) CONTRACTS, GRANTS, AND COOPERATIVE

5 AGREEMENTS.—The Office of Federal Procurement 

6 Policy shall enter into contracts, grants, or coopera7 tive agreements with one or more qualified univer8 sities with demonstrated expertise in Federal Gov9 ernment acquisition. 

10 ‘‘(2) TRAINING.—The program shall consist of 

11 one academic year of full-time, on-campus training 

12 followed by two years of on-the-job and part-time 

13 training toward a Masters or equivalent graduate 

14 degree in related fields. 

15 ‘‘(3) CURRICULUM.—The curriculum of the pro16 gram shall include the following elements: 

17 ‘‘(A) Rotational assignments at three or 

18 more executive agencies covering, among other 

19 issues, acquisition planning, cost estimation, 

20 formation and post-award administration of 

21 cost-reimbursement contracts, time-and-mate22 rials contracts, indefinite delivery indefinite 

23 quantity contracts, and interagency contracts, 

24 terminations, and contract close-out. 


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1 ‘‘(B) All required non-agency-specific 

2 training courses necessary for basic contracting 

3 officer warrant as established by the Office of 

4 Federal Procurement Policy. 

5 ‘‘(C) Emphasis on transparency, account6 ability, and integrity in the public contracting 

7 process. 

8 ‘‘(D) Other necessary courses and edu9 cation as required by participating universities. 

10 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY FOR EMPLOYMENT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of each ex12 ecutive agency shall give priority to graduates 

13 of the program for purposes of hiring employees 

14 in the acquisition field, based on performance 

15 during the program and other qualifications, 

16 and shall initially appoint such graduates to po17 sitions at the GS–12, 13, or 14 levels of the 

18 General Schedule, or equivalents. 

19 ‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

20 in this paragraph shall be construed to author21 ize any hiring that violates any merit system 

22 principle under section 2301 of title 5, United 

23 States Code, or conflicts with any right of a 

24 preference eligible (as defined under section 

25 2108 of such title). 


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1 ‘‘(d) SIZE.—The total number of individuals entering 

2 the program each year may not exceed 200. There shall 

3 be at least 50 participants in the first year of the program, 

4 100 participants in the second year, and 150 participants 

5 thereafter. 

6 ‘‘(e) ELEMENTS.—In carrying out the program, the 

7 Administrator shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) enter into one or more contracts, grants, 

9 or cooperative agreements with qualified universities 

10 having an expertise in Federal Government acquisi11 tion and the resources to administer the program 

12 independently; 

13 ‘‘(2) be responsible for the management and 

14 oversight of the overall program and for placement 

15 of individuals upon graduation; 

16 ‘‘(3) allow participating universities to select 

17 and to remove program participants in accordance 

18 with the established academic process for such grad19 uate degree programs; and 

20 ‘‘(4) periodically review the career development 

21 of the program participants upon placement and 

22 make necessary adjustments to the program to en23 sure the objectives are met. 

24 ‘‘(f) SERVICE AGREEMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) COMMITMENT FOR FEDERAL SERVICE.—A 

2 person selected for participation in the program 

3 shall commit to employment with the Federal Gov4 ernment in the field of acquisition, following comple5 tion of the program, under such terms and condi6 tions as the Administrator considers appropriate to 

7 ensure the Federal Government receives proper re8 turn on investment. Such employment shall be for a 

9 term of not less than one year for each year in the 

10 program. 

11 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.—In cases of 

12 candidates who do not successfully complete the pro13 gram or do not fulfill the minimum service require14 ments, the candidates shall be required to reimburse 

15 the Federal Government for funds received under 

16 the program. 

17 ‘‘(g) OFPP ACQUISITION FELLOWS PROGRAM

18 FUND.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby estab20 lished in the Treasury of the United States a fund 

21 to be known as the ‘OFPP Acquisition Fellows De22 velopment Fund’ (in this section referred to as the 

23 ‘Fund’). 

24 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Fund 

25 shall be used for— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the establishment and operations of 

2 the program; 

3 ‘‘(B) the award of contracts, grants, or co4 operative agreements to cover expenses includ5 ing— 

6 ‘‘(i) tuition, books, materials, and 

7 other academic expenses; 

8 ‘‘(ii) room and board of students dur9 ing the time students are enrolled in the 

10 program; 

11 ‘‘(iii) expenses for travel as required 

12 by the program; 

13 ‘‘(iv) stipends; 

14 ‘‘(v) planning and administration of 

15 the program; and 

16 ‘‘(vi) other necessary expenses the Ad17 ministrator considers necessary. 

18 ‘‘(3) DEPOSITS TO FUND.—The Fund shall con19 sist of amounts appropriated or otherwise made 

20 available to the Fund.’’. 

21 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con22 tents in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by add23 ing at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 45. Government-wide acquisition management fellows program.’’. 

24 (b) REPORTS.— 


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1 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 120 days 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad3 ministrator shall submit to the appropriate congres4 sional committees a preliminary report on the pro5 gram, including a description of the program and 

6 the five-year budget needed to carry out the govern7 ment-wide acquisition management fellows program 

8 established under section 45 of the Office of Federal 

9 Procurement Policy Act, as added by subsection (a). 

10 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 

11 after the commencement of the program and annu12 ally thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the 

13 appropriate congressional committees a report on 

14 the program. The report shall include— 

15 (A) a description of the activities under the 

16 program, including the number of individuals 

17 who participated in the program and the train18 ing provided such individuals under the pro19 gram; 

20 (B) an assessment of the effectiveness of 

21 the program in meeting the objectives of the 

22 program, including the performance of each 

23 university administering the program; and 

24 (C) any recommendations for additional 

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1 ministrator considers appropriate in light of the 

2 program. 

3 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘ap5 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

7 and Governmental Affairs and the Committee 

8 on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

9 (B) the Committee on Oversight and Gov10 ernment Reform and the Committee on Appro11 priations of the House of Representatives. 

12 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated for the OFPP Acquisi14 tion Fellows Development Fund the following amounts: 

15 (1) For fiscal year 2011, $16,000,000. 

16 (2) For fiscal year 2012, $32,000,000. 

17 (3) For fiscal year 2013, $48,000,000. 

Æ 


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