‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—If the Chairman de-
termines that a certification should be renewed 
under subparagraph (A), the Chairman may 
renew the certification, subject to the certifi-
cation 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 em-
ployees or other personnel that would have been 
covered by a certification issued under para-
graph (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 com-
pensation of the employees or other personnel 
described in subparagraph (A) at the level es-
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tablished for the category of employees or other 
personnel in the certification. 
‘‘(5) RETENTION
OF
LEVEL
OF
FIXED
COM-
PENSATION.—A category of employees or other per-
sonnel, 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 ef-
fect with respect to the compensation of the category 
of employees or other personnel. 
‘‘(6) CONSULTATION
REQUIRED.—The Chair-
man shall consult with the Director of the Office of 
Personnel Management in implementing this sub-
section, including in the determination of the 
amount of compensation with respect to each cat-
egory of employees or other personnel. 
‘‘(7) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the Chairman may— 
‘‘(i) obtain the services of experts and 
consultants in accordance with section 
3109 of title 5, United States Code; 
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‘‘(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 consult-
ants serving away from the homes or reg-
ular 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 prac-
ticable, limit the use of experts and con-
sultants pursuant to subparagraph (A); 
and 
‘‘(ii) ensure that the employment con-
tract of each expert and consultant em-
ployed pursuant to subparagraph (A) is 
subject to renewal not less frequently than 
annually.’’. 
(b) REPORTS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years 
thereafter for 10 years, the Chairman of the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission shall submit to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on in-
formation relating to hiring, vacancies, and com-
pensation at the Federal Energy Regulatory Com-
mission. 
(2) INCLUSIONS.—Each report under para-
graph (1) shall include— 
(A) an analysis of any trends with respect 
to hiring, vacancies, and compensation at the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; and 
(B) a description of the efforts to retain 
and attract employees or other personnel re-
sponsible for conducting work of a scientific, 
technological, engineering, or mathematical na-
ture at the Federal Energy Regulatory Com-
mission. 
(c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall apply beginning on the date that is 30 
days after the date of enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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