H. R. 5515—373 
‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The term ‘institu-
tion of higher education’ has the meaning given the term in 
section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1001(a)). 
‘‘(3) STUDENT.—The term ‘student’ means an individual 
enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an institution of higher 
education who is pursuing a baccalaureate or graduate degree 
on at least a part-time basis as determined by the institution 
of higher education. 
‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an agency may make a 
time-limited appointment of a student, without regard to any 
provision of sections 3309 through 3319 and 3330, to a position 
in the competitive service at the GS–11 level, or an equivalent 
level, or below for which the student is qualified. 
‘‘(2) RESTRICTIONS.—An appointment under paragraph (1) 
shall be made in accordance with regulations prescribed by 
the Director. 
‘‘(c) PUBLIC NOTICE.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The head of an agency making an 
appointment under subsection (b) shall publicly advertise posi-
tions available under this section. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
head of an agency shall— 
‘‘(A) adhere to merit system principles; 
‘‘(B) advertise positions in a manner that provides for 
diverse and qualified applicants; and 
‘‘(C) ensure potential applicants have appropriate 
information relevant to the positions available. 
‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON APPOINTMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
the total number of students that the head of an agency may 
appoint under this section during a fiscal year may not exceed 
the number equal to 15 percent of the number of students 
that the agency head appointed during the previous fiscal year 
to a position in the competitive service at the GS–11 level, 
or an equivalent level, or below. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Under a regulation prescribed under 
subsection (g), the Director may establish a lower limit on 
the number of students that may be appointed under paragraph 
(1) of this subsection during a fiscal year based on any factor 
the Director considers appropriate. 
‘‘(e) CONVERSION.—The head of an agency may, without regard 
to any provision of chapter 33 or any other provision of law relating 
to the examination, certification, and appointment of individuals 
in the competitive service, convert a student serving in an appoint-
ment under subsection (b) to a permanent appointment in the 
competitive service within the agency without further competition 
if the student— 
‘‘(1) has completed the course of study leading to the bacca-
laureate or graduate degree; 
‘‘(2) has completed not less than 640 hours of current 
continuous employment in an appointment under subsection 
(b); and 
‘‘(3) meets the qualification standards for the position to 
which the student will be converted.
H. R. 5515—374 
‘‘(f) TERMINATION.—The head of an agency shall, without regard 
to any provision of chapter 35 or 75, terminate the appointment 
of a student appointed under subsection (b) upon completion of 
the designated academic course of study unless the student is 
selected for conversion under subsection (e). 
‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this section, the Director shall issue interim regula-
tions, with an opportunity for comment, for the administration 
of this section. 
‘‘(h) REPORTING.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30 of each 
of the first 3 fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment 
of this section, the head of an agency that makes an appoint-
ment under this section shall submit a report to— 
‘‘(A) Congress that assesses the impact of the use of 
the authority provided under this section during the fiscal 
year in which the report is submitted; and 
‘‘(B) the Director that contains data that the Director 
considers necessary for the Director to assess the impact 
and effectiveness of the authority described in subpara-
graph (A). 
‘‘(2) CONTENT.—The head of an agency shall include in 
each report under paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(A) the total number of individuals appointed by the 
agency under this section, as well as the number of such 
individuals who are— 
‘‘(i) minorities or members of other underrep-
resented groups; or 
‘‘(ii) veterans; 
‘‘(B) recruitment sources; 
‘‘(C) the total number of individuals appointed by the 
agency during the applicable fiscal year to a position in 
the competitive service at the GS–11 level, or an equivalent 
level, or below; and 
‘‘(D) any additional data specified by the Director. 
‘‘(i) SPECIAL
PROVISION
REGARDING
THE
DEPARTMENT
OF 
DEFENSE.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this section shall preclude 
the Secretary of Defense from exercising any authority to 
appoint a post-secondary student under section 1106 of the 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (10 
U.S.C. note prec. 1580), or any applicable successor statute. 
‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—Any regulations prescribed by the 
Director for the administration of this section shall not apply 
to the Department of Defense during the period ending on 
the date on which the appointment authority of the Secretary 
of Defense under section 1106 of the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (10 U.S.C. note prec. 
1580), or any applicable successor statute, terminates.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subchapter I of chapter 31 of title 5, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘3115. Expedited hiring authority for college graduates; competitive service 
‘‘3116. Expedited hiring authority for post-secondary students; competitive service’’.
H. R. 5515—375 
SEC. 1109. INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTIFICATION OF EXECUTIVE QUALI-
FICATIONS BY QUALIFICATION REVIEW BOARDS OF 
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT FOR INITIAL 
APPOINTMENTS TO SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE POSI-
TIONS IN DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. 
(a) TEMPORARY
INAPPLICABILITY.—Notwithstanding section 
3393(c) of title 5, United States Code, or any regulations imple-
menting that section, and subject to the provisions of this section, 
the Secretary of Defense may appoint individuals for service in 
the Senior Executive Service of the Department of Defense without 
such individuals being subject to the certification of executive quali-
fications by a qualification review board of the Office of Personnel 
Management in connection with such appointment otherwise 
required by that section. 
(b) QUALIFICATIONS OF INDIVIDUALS APPOINTED.—The Secretary 
shall ensure that individuals appointed under this section possess 
the necessary qualifications and experience for the position to which 
appointed. 
(c) LIMITATION.—The total number of appointments made under 
this section in any year may not exceed 50 appointments. 
(d) REPORTS.— 
(1) INITIAL
REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 
to the committees of Congress and official specified in para-
graph (3) a report on the number and type of appointments 
made under this section as of the date of the report, including— 
(A) a description of the qualifications of the individuals 
appointed; and 
(B) data on the time required to appoint the individ-
uals. 
(2) FINAL
REPORT.—Not later than two years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 
to the committees of Congress and official specified in para-
graph (3) a report on the use of the authority in this section. 
The report shall include the following: 
(A) The number and type of appointments made under 
this section during the one-year period ending on the date 
of the report. 
(B) Data on and an assessment whether appointments 
under the authority in this section reduced the time to 
hire when compared with the time to hire under the current 
review system of the Office of Personnel Management. 
(C) An assessment of the utility of the appointment 
authority and process under this section. 
(D) An assessment whether the appointments made 
under this section resulted in higher quality new executives 
for the Senior Executive Service of the Department when 
compared with the executives produced under the current 
review system of the Office of Personnel Management. 
(E) Any recommendation for the improvement of the 
selection and qualification process for the Senior Executive 
Service of the Department that the Secretary considers 
necessary in order to attract and hire highly qualified 
candidates for service in that Senior Executive Service. 
(3) COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS AND OFFICIAL.—The commit-
tees of Congress and official specified in this paragraph are—
H. R. 5515—376 
(A) the Committee on Armed Services and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate; 
(B) the Committee on Armed Services and the Com-
mittee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 
of Representatives; and 
(C) the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. 
(e) SUNSET.—Subsection (a) shall cease to be effective on the 
date that is two years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
SEC. 1110. ENGAGEMENT WITH HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND 
UNIVERSITIES AND MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS 
FOR 
THE 
PURPOSES 
OF 
TECHNICAL 
WORKFORCE 
ENHANCEMENT. 
(a) REPORT.—The Secretary of Defense shall develop and submit 
a report to the congressional defense committees detailing activities 
to increase engagement with covered educational institutions (as 
that term is defined in section 2362(e) of title 10, United States 
Code) for the purpose of increasing the number of graduates of 
such institutions to accept positions in Department of Defense 
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics-related posi-
tions important to the national security functions of the Depart-
ment. 
(b) DEVELOPMENT.—The report required under subsection (a) 
shall be developed jointly by the Under Secretary of Defense for 
Research and Engineering and the Under Secretary of Defense 
for Personnel and Readiness, in consultation with all appropriate 
officials in the Department and relevant interagency, academic, 
and private sector entities. 
(c) CONTENTS.—The report required under subsection (a) shall 
identify— 
(1) metrics to assess engagement with covered educational 
institution students, including scholarships, fellowships, intern-
ships and co-ops, and specific steps to improve performance 
relative to those metrics; 
(2) specific outreach activities to better engage covered 
educational institution students on Department of Defense 
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics employ-
ment opportunities; and 
(3) metrics on hiring of covered educational institution 
graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathe-
matics-related positions and plans to increase such hiring. 
(d) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the report required under 
subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall assess the use of 
the authorities provided under section 2358a of title 10, United 
States Code, in engagements with covered educational institutions. 
SEC. 1111. INCLUSION OF STRATEGIC CAPABILITIES OFFICE AND 
DEFENSE INNOVATION UNIT EXPERIMENTAL OF THE 
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE IN PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 
AUTHORITY TO ATTRACT EXPERTS IN SCIENCE AND 
ENGINEERING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 1599h of title 10, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraphs: