under subsection (b)(1)(B) of this section 
between— 
‘‘(I) the rural or remote nature 
of the area; and 
‘‘(II) difficulty in the recruitment 
and retention of CBP employees in 
the area; and 
‘‘(iii) in the absence of a retention 
bonus, the CBP employee would be likely 
to leave— 
‘‘(I) the Federal service; or 
‘‘(II) for a different position in 
the Federal service, including a posi-
tion in another agency or component 
of the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity; and 
‘‘(B) the individual enters into a written 
service agreement with the Secretary— 
‘‘(i) under which the individual is re-
quired to complete a period of employment 
as a CBP employee of not less than 2 
years; and 
‘‘(ii) that includes— 
‘‘(I) the commencement and ter-
mination dates of the required service 
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period (or provisions for the deter-
mination thereof); 
‘‘(II) the amount of the bonus; 
and 
‘‘(III) other terms and conditions 
under which the bonus is payable, 
subject to the requirements of this 
subsection, including— 
‘‘(aa) the conditions under 
which the agreement may be ter-
minated before the agreed-upon 
service period has been com-
pleted; and 
‘‘(bb) the effect of a termi-
nation described in item (aa). 
‘‘(4) RULES FOR BONUSES.— 
‘‘(A) MAXIMUM BONUS.—A bonus paid to 
an employee under— 
‘‘(i) paragraph (2) may not exceed 
100 percent of the annual rate of basic pay 
of the employee as of the commencement 
date of the applicable service period; and 
‘‘(ii) paragraph (3) may not exceed 50 
percent of the annual rate of basic pay of 
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the employee as of the commencement date 
of the applicable service period. 
‘‘(B) RELATION TO BASIC PAY.—A bonus 
paid to an employee under paragraph (2) or (3) 
shall not be considered part of the basic pay of 
the employee for any purpose. 
‘‘(5) OPM OVERSIGHT.—The Director shall, to 
the extent practicable— 
‘‘(A) set aside a determination of the Sec-
retary under this subsection if the Director 
finds substantial evidence that the Secretary 
abused the discretion of the Secretary in mak-
ing the determination; and 
‘‘(B) oversee the compliance of the Sec-
retary with this subsection. 
‘‘(d) SPECIAL PAY AUTHORITY.—In addition to the 
circumstances described in subsection (b) of section 5305, 
the Director may establish special rates of pay in accord-
ance with that section if the Director finds that the re-
cruitment or retention efforts of the Secretary with respect 
to positions for CBP employees in an area or location are, 
or are likely to become, significantly handicapped because 
the positions are located in a rural or remote area for 
which the Secretary has identified a direct relationship 
under subsection (b)(1)(B) of this section between— 
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‘‘(1) the rural or remote nature of the area; and 
‘‘(2) difficulty in the recruitment and retention 
of CBP employees in the area. 
‘‘(e) REGULAR CBP REVIEW.— 
‘‘(1) ENSURING
FLEXIBILITIES
MEET
CBP 
NEEDS.—Each year, the Secretary shall review the 
use of hiring flexibilities under subsections (c) and 
(d) to fill positions at a location in a rural or remote 
area to determine— 
‘‘(A) the impact of the use of those flexi-
bilities on solving hiring and retention chal-
lenges at the location; 
‘‘(B) whether hiring and retention chal-
lenges still exist at the location; and 
‘‘(C) whether the Secretary needs to con-
tinue to use those flexibilities at the location. 
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION.—In conducting the re-
view under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall con-
sider— 
‘‘(A) whether any CBP employee accepted 
an employment incentive under subsection (c) 
or (d) and then transferred to a new location or 
left U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and 
‘‘(B) the length of time that each employee 
identified under subparagraph (A) stayed at the 
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original location before transferring to a new lo-
cation or leaving U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection. 
‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall sub-
mit to Congress a report on each review required 
under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(f) IMPROVING CBP HIRING AND RETENTION.— 
‘‘(1) EDUCATION OF CBP HIRING OFFICIALS.— 
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Hiring 
and Retention Act of 2024 and in conjunction with 
the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department 
of Homeland Security, the Secretary shall develop 
and implement a strategy to improve education re-
garding hiring and human resources flexibilities (in-
cluding hiring and human resources flexibilities for 
locations in rural or remote areas) for all employees, 
serving in agency headquarters or field offices, who 
are involved in the recruitment, hiring, assessment, 
or selection of candidates for locations in a rural or 
remote area, as well as the retention of current em-
ployees. 
‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Elements of the strategy 
under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 
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‘‘(A) Developing or updating training and 
educational materials on hiring and human re-
sources flexibilities for employees who are in-
volved in the recruitment, hiring, assessment, or 
selection of candidates, as well as the retention 
of current employees. 
‘‘(B) Regular training sessions for per-
sonnel who are critical to filling open positions 
in rural or remote areas. 
‘‘(C) The development of pilot programs or 
other programs, as appropriate, to address 
identified hiring challenges in rural or remote 
areas. 
‘‘(D) Developing and enhancing strategic 
recruiting efforts through relationships with in-
stitutions of higher education, as defined in sec-
tion 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1002), veterans transition and em-
ployment centers, and job placement program 
in regions that could assist in filling positions 
in rural or remote areas. 
‘‘(E) Examination of existing agency pro-
grams on how to most effectively aid spouses 
and families of individuals who are candidates 
or new hires in a rural or remote area. 
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‘‘(F) Feedback from individuals who are 
candidates or new hires at locations in a rural 
or remote area, including feedback on the qual-
ity of life in rural or remote areas for new hires 
and their families. 
‘‘(G) Feedback from CBP employees, other 
than new hires, who are stationed at locations 
in a rural or remote area, including feedback on 
the quality of life in rural or remote areas for 
those CBP employees and their families. 
‘‘(H) Evaluation of Department of Home-
land Security internship programs and the use-
fulness of those programs in improving hiring 
by the Secretary in rural or remote areas. 
‘‘(3) EVALUATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(i) evaluate the extent to which the 
strategy developed and implemented under 
paragraph (1) has improved the hiring and 
retention ability of the Secretary; and 
‘‘(ii) make any appropriate updates to 
the strategy under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) INFORMATION.—The evaluation con-
ducted under subparagraph (A) shall include— 
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‘‘(i) any reduction in the time taken 
by the Secretary to fill mission-critical po-
sitions in rural or remote areas; 
‘‘(ii) a general assessment of the im-
pact of the strategy developed and imple-
mented under paragraph (1) on hiring 
challenges in rural or remote areas; and 
‘‘(iii) other information the Secretary 
determines relevant. 
‘‘(g) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.—Not later than 
2 years after the date of enactment of the U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection Hiring and Retention Act of 2024, 
the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Se-
curity shall review the use of hiring flexibilities by the Sec-
retary under subsections (c) and (d) to determine whether 
the use of those flexibilities is helping the Secretary meet 
hiring and retention needs in rural and remote areas. 
‘‘(h) REPORT ON POLYGRAPH REQUESTS.—The Sec-
retary shall report to Congress on the number of requests 
the Secretary receives from any other Federal agency for 
the file of an applicant for a position in U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection that includes the results of a poly-
graph examination. 
‘‘(i) DELEGATION.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the Secretary may delegate any authority under this 
section to the Commissioner. 
‘‘(2) OVERSIGHT.—The Commissioner may not 
make a determination under subsection (b)(1) unless 
the Secretary approves the determination. 
‘‘(j) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to exempt the Secretary or the Di-
rector from the applicability of the merit system principles 
under section 2301. 
‘‘(k) SUNSET.—The authorities under subsections (c) 
and (d) shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after 
the date of enactment of the U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection Hiring and Retention Act of 2024.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of sections for chapter 97 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘9702. U.S. Customs and Border Protection employment authorities.’’. 
(c) UPDATE.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall update the U.S. Customs and Border Pro-
tection Office of Field Operations staff model to take into 
account changes to mission requirements in a post-COVID 
era and conditions at the Ports of Entry. 
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(d) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON STUDENT LOAN REPAY-
MENTS.—It is the sense of the Congress that any em-
ployee hired pursuant to section 9702 of title 5, United 
States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this Act, should 
receive student loan repayments under section 5379 of 
such title. 
Æ 
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