Strengthening the NRC Workforce Act of 2023

To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to address the insufficient compensation and recruitment of employees and other personnel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Strengthening the NRC Workforce Act of 2023 2. Commission workforce (a) General authority The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 ( 42 U.S.C. 2201 et seq. 161B. Commission workforce (a) Direct hire authority (1) In general Notwithstanding section 161 d. of this Act and section 3304 of title 5, United States Code, and without regard to the provisions of sections 3309 through 3318 of title 5, United States Code, if the Chairman of the Commission issues a certification that there is a severe shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need for covered positions to carry out the Commission’s responsibilities and activities, the Chairman may, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), recruit and directly appoint highly qualified individuals into the competitive service. (2) Limitations Any action authorized pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be consistent with the merit principles of section 2301 of title 5, United States Code, and the Chairman shall comply with the public notice requirements of section 3327 of such title 5. (3) Termination (A) In general A certification issued or renewed under this subsection shall terminate on the earlier of— (i) the date that is 5 years after the certification is renewed or issued; or (ii) the date on which the Chairman determines there is no longer a severe shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need for covered positions to carry out the Commission’s responsibilities and activities. (B) Renewal The Chairman may renew a certification issued or renewed under this subsection for an additional 5-year period if the Chairman determines there is still a severe shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need for covered positions to carry out the Commission’s responsibilities and activities. (4) Covered position In this subsection, the term covered position (b) Addressing insufficient compensation of employees and other personnel of the Commission (1) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the Chairman of the Commission publicly certifies that compensation for a category of employees or other personnel of the Commission is insufficient to retain or attract employees and other personnel to allow the Commission to carry out the functions of the Commission in a timely, efficient, and effective manner, the Chairman may fix the compensation for the category of employees or other personnel without regard to chapter 51 and chapter 53 (2) Certification requirements A certification issued under paragraph (1) shall— (A) apply with respect to a category of employees who serve in covered positions, as defined in subsection (a)(4); (B) specify a maximum amount of reasonable compensation for the category of employees or other personnel; (C) be valid for a 5-year period beginning on the date on which the certification is issued; and (D) be no broader than necessary to achieve the objective of retaining or attracting employees and other personnel to allow the Commission to carry out the functions of the Commission in a timely, efficient, and effective manner. (3) Renewal (A) In general Not later than 90 days before the date of expiration of a certification issued under paragraph (1), the Chairman shall determine whether the certification should be renewed for a subsequent 5-year period. (B) Requirement If the Chairman determines that a certification should be renewed under subparagraph (A), the Chairman may renew the certification, subject to the certification requirements under paragraph (2) that were applicable to the initial certification. (4) New hires (A) In general An employee or other personnel that is a member of a category of employees or other personnel that would have been covered by a certification issued under paragraph (1), but was hired during a period in which the certification has expired and has not been renewed under paragraph (3) shall not be eligible for compensation at the level that would have applied to the employee or other personnel if the certification had been in effect on the date on which the employee or other personnel was hired. (B) Compensation of new hires on renewal On renewal of a certification under paragraph (3), the Chairman may fix the compensation of the employees or other personnel described in subparagraph (A) at the level established for the category of employees or other personnel in the certification. (5) Retention of level of fixed compensation A category of employees or other personnel, the compensation of which was fixed by the Chairman in accordance with paragraph (1), may, at the discretion of the Chairman, have the level of fixed compensation for the category of employees or other personnel retained, regardless of whether a certification described under that paragraph is in effect with respect to the compensation of the category of employees or other personnel. (6) Consultation required The Chairman shall consult with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management in implementing this subsection, including in the determination of the amount of compensation with respect to each category of employees or other personnel. Not later than 60 days after the Chairman’s request for consultation under this paragraph, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall respond to and consult with the Chairman for purposes of this paragraph. (7) Experts and consultants (A) In general Subject to subparagraph (B), the Chairman may— (i) obtain the services of experts and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code; (ii) compensate those experts and consultants for each day (including travel time) at rates not in excess of the rate of pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of that title; and (iii) pay to the experts and consultants serving away from the homes or regular places of business of the experts and consultants travel expenses and per diem in lieu of subsistence at rates authorized by sections 5702 and 5703 of that title for persons in Government service employed intermittently. (B) Limitations The Chairman shall— (i) to the maximum extent practicable, limit the use of experts and consultants pursuant to subparagraph (A); and (ii) ensure that the employment contract of each expert and consultant employed pursuant to subparagraph (A) is subject to renewal not less frequently than annually. (c) Additional compensation authority (1) For new employees The Commission may pay a person recruited and directly appointed under subsection (a) a 1-time hiring bonus in an amount not to exceed $25,000. (2) For existing employees (A) In general Subject to subparagraph (B), an employee who the Chairman determines exhibited exceptional performance in a fiscal year may be paid a performance bonus in an amount not to exceed the least of— (i) $25,000; and (ii) the amount of the limitation that is applicable for a calendar year under section 5307(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code. (B) Limitations (i) Subsequent bonuses Any person who receives a performance bonus under subparagraph (A) may not receive another performance bonus under that subparagraph for a period of 5 years thereafter. (ii) Hiring bonuses Any person who receives a 1-time hiring bonus under paragraph (1) may not receive a performance bonus under subparagraph (A) unless more than one year has elapsed since the payment of such 1-time hiring bonus. . (b) Table of contents The table of contents of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 161A the following: Sec. 161B. Commission workforce. . 3. Reports (a) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report on information relating to hiring, vacancies, and compensation at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (b) Inclusions Each report under subsection (a) shall include— (1) an analysis of any trends with respect to hiring, vacancies, and compensation at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and (2) a description of the efforts to retain and attract employees or other personnel responsible for conducting work of a scientific, technical, engineering, mathematical, legal, or otherwise highly specialized or skilled nature at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Summary: Strengthening the NRC Workforce Act of 2023This bill authorizes the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to address insufficient compensation of its personnel without regard to civil service laws. The NRC must consult with the Office of Personnel Management when making a determination of the appropriate compensation for its personnel. It also allows the NRC to respond to a severe shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need for certain positions by using direct hiring to carry out the NRC's responsibilities and activities.