H. R. 7776—516 
(k) COLLECTION OF REPAYMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In the event that a scholarship recipient 
is required to repay the scholarship award under the Program, 
the institution of higher education providing the scholarship 
shall— 
(A) determine the repayment amounts and notify the 
recipient, the Secretary, and the Director of the Office 
of Personnel Management of the amounts owed; and 
(B) collect the repayment amounts within a period 
of time as determined by the Secretary. 
(2) RETURNED TO TREASURY.—Except as provided in para-
graph (3), any repayment under this subsection shall be 
returned to the Treasury of the United States. 
(3) RETAIN
PERCENTAGE.—An institution of higher edu-
cation may retain a percentage of any repayment the institution 
collects under this subsection to defray administrative costs 
associated with the collection. The Secretary shall establish 
a single, fixed percentage that will apply to all eligible entities. 
(l) PUBLIC INFORMATION.— 
(1) EVALUATION.—The Secretary, in coordination with the 
Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall periodi-
cally evaluate and make public, in a manner that protects 
the personally identifiable information of scholarship recipients, 
information on the success of recruiting individuals for scholar-
ships under the Program and on hiring and retaining those 
individuals in the Department of Defense workforce, including 
information on— 
(A) placement rates; 
(B) where students are placed, including job titles and 
descriptions; 
(C) salary ranges for students not released from obliga-
tions under this section; 
(D) how long after graduation students are placed; 
(E) how long students stay in the positions they enter 
upon graduation; 
(F) how many students are released from obligations; 
and 
(G) what, if any, remedial training is required. 
(2) REPORTS.—The Secretary, in consultation with the 
Office of Personnel Management, shall submit, not less fre-
quently than once every two years, to Congress a report, 
including— 
(A) the results of the evaluation under paragraph (1); 
(B) the disparity in any reporting between scholarship 
recipients and their respective institutions of higher edu-
cation; and 
(C) any recent statistics regarding the size, composi-
tion, and educational requirements of the relevant Depart-
ment of Defense workforce. 
(3) RESOURCES.—The Secretary, in coordination with the 
Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall provide 
consolidated and user-friendly online resources for prospective 
scholarship recipients, including, to the extent practicable— 
(A) searchable, up-to-date, and accurate information 
about participating institutions of higher education and 
job opportunities relating to covered disciplines; and
H. R. 7776—517 
(B) a modernized description of careers in covered dis-
ciplines. 
(m) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 50 percent of the amount 
available for financial assistance under this section for a fiscal 
year shall be available only for providing financial assistance 
for the pursuit of programs of education referred to in sub-
section (b)(1) at institutions of higher education that have estab-
lished, improved, or are administering programs of education 
in disciplines under the grant program established in section 
2200b of title 10, United States Code, as determined by the 
Secretary. 
(2) ASSOCIATE DEGREES.—Not less than five percent of the 
amount available for financial assistance under this section 
for a fiscal year shall be available for providing financial assist-
ance for the pursuit of an associate degree at an institution 
described in paragraph (1). 
(n) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—In order to help identify workforce 
needs and trends relevant to the Program, the Secretary may estab-
lish a board of directors for the Program that consists of representa-
tives of Federal departments and agencies. 
(o) COMMENCEMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall com-
mence the Program as early as practicable, with the first scholar-
ships awarded under the Program for the academic year beginning 
no later than the fall semester of 2024. 
SEC. 1536. REPORT ON RECOMMENDATIONS FROM NAVY CIVILIAN 
CAREER PATH STUDY. 
(a) REPORT.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Navy shall 
submit to the congressional defense committees a report on 
the recommendations made in the report submitted to the 
congressional defense committees under section 1653(a)(2) of 
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 
(Public Law 116–92; 133 Stat. 1763) relating to improving 
cyber career paths in the Navy. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The report under paragraph (1) shall 
include the following: 
(A) A description of each recommendation described 
in such paragraph that has already been implemented. 
(B) A description of each recommendation described 
in such paragraph that the Secretary has commenced 
implementing, including a justification for determining to 
commence implementing the recommendation. 
(C) A description of each recommendation described 
in such paragraph that the Secretary has not implemented 
or commenced implementing and a determination as to 
whether or not to implement the recommendation. 
(D) For each recommendation under subparagraph (C) 
that the Secretary determines to implement— 
(i) a timeline for implementation; 
(ii) a description of any additional resources or 
authorities required for implementation; and 
(iii) the plan for implementation.
H. R. 7776—518 
(E) For each recommendation under subparagraph (C) 
that the Secretary determines not to implement, a justifica-
tion for the determination not to implement. 
(3) FORMAT.—The report under paragraph (1) shall be sub-
mitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. 
(b) REVIEW
BY
COMPTROLLER
GENERAL
OF
THE
UNITED 
STATES.— 
(1) REVIEW.—Not later than 180 days after the date on 
which the Secretary submits the report under subsection (a), 
the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct 
a review of such report. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The review under paragraph (1) shall 
include an assessment of the following: 
(A) The extent to which the Secretary has implemented 
the recommendations described in subsection (a)(1). 
(B) Additional recommended actions for the Secretary 
to take to improve the readiness and retention of the cyber 
workforce of the Navy. 
(3) INTERIM BRIEFING.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date on which the Secretary submits the report under sub-
section (a), the Comptroller General shall provide to the 
congressional defense committees a briefing on the preliminary 
findings of the Comptroller General with respect to the review 
conducted under paragraph (1). 
(4) FINAL REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall submit 
to the congressional defense committees a report on the findings 
of the Comptroller General with respect to the review under 
paragraph (1) at such time and in such format as is mutually 
agreed upon by the committees and the Comptroller General 
at the time of the briefing under paragraph (3). 
SEC. 1537. STUDY TO DETERMINE OPTIMAL STRATEGY FOR STRUC-
TURING AND MANNING ELEMENTS OF JOINT FORCE 
HEADQUARTERS–CYBER ORGANIZATIONS, JOINT MISSION 
OPERATIONS 
CENTERS, 
AND 
CYBER 
OPERATIONS- 
INTEGRATED PLANNING ELEMENTS. 
(a) STUDY.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Principal Cyber Advisor of the 
Department of Defense, in coordination with the commanders 
of the combatant commands, shall conduct a study to determine 
the optimal strategy for structuring and manning elements 
of the following: 
(A) Joint Force Headquarters Cyber Organizations. 
(B) Joint Mission Operations Centers. 
(C) Cyber Operations–Integrated Planning Elements. 
(D) Joint Cyber Centers. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The study under paragraph (1) shall 
include an assessment of each of the following: 
(A) Operational effects on the military services if each 
of the entities listed in subparagraphs (A) through (C) 
of paragraph (1) are restructured from organizations that 
are components of the military services to joint organiza-
tions. 
(B) Existing barriers or impediments to designate posi-
tions within each of the entities listed in such subpara-
graphs (A), (B), and (C) as joint billets for joint qualification 
purposes.
H. R. 7776—519 
(C) Operational and organizational effects on the mili-
tary services, the United States Cyber Command, other 
combatant commands, and the Joint Staff if the entities 
listed in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1) 
are realigned, restructured, or consolidated. 
(D) Operational and organizational effects and advise-
ment of standardizing a minimum set of roles and respon-
sibilities of the Joint Cyber Centers, or the equivalent 
entity, of the combatant commands. 
(E) Clarification of the relationship and differentiation 
between Cyber Operations–Integrated Planning Elements 
and Joint Cyber Centers of the combatant commands. 
(F) A complete inventory of mission essential tasks 
for the entities listed in such subparagraphs (A) through 
(D). 
(G) A description of cyber activities in geographic and 
functional combatant command campaign plans and 
resources aligned to those activities. 
(b) BRIEFINGS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than once every 
120 days until March 31, 2024, the Principal Cyber Advisor of 
the Department shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services 
of the Senate and the House of Representatives a briefing on 
the status of the study under subsection (a). 
(c) REPORT.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than March 31, 2024, the 
Principal Cyber Advisor of the Department shall submit to 
the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the 
House of Representatives a report on the study under sub-
section (a). 
(2) CONTENTS.—The report under paragraph (1) shall con-
tain the following: 
(A) The findings of the Principal Cyber Advisor with 
respect to the study under subsection (a). 
(B) Details of the operational and organizational effects 
assessed under paragraph (2) of such subsection. 
(C) A plan to carry out the transfer described in 
subparagraph (B) of such paragraph and the associated 
costs, as appropriate. 
(D) A plan to realign, restructure, or consolidate the 
entities listed in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of sub-
section (a)(1). 
(E) Such other matters as the Principal Cyber Advisor 
considers appropriate. 
SEC. 1538. MANNING REVIEW OF SPACE FORCE CYBER SQUADRONS. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 210 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Air Force, in 
coordination with the Chief of Space Operations, shall submit to 
the congressional defense committees a review of the manning 
required to fully staff the current and planned cyber squadrons 
of the Space Force. 
(b) MATTERS INCLUDED.— 
(1) ELEMENTS.—The review under subsection (a) shall 
include considerations of the following: 
(A) The specific sourcing of existing billets of the Space 
Force optimally postured for transfer to cyber squadrons.