H. R. 1735—298 
SEC. 1104. MODIFICATION TO TEMPORARY AUTHORITIES FOR CERTAIN 
POSITIONS AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE RESEARCH 
AND ENGINEERING FACILITIES. 
Section 1107 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 113–66; 127 Stat. 888) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) NONCOMPETITIVE CONVERSION TO PERMANENT APPOINT-
MENT.—With respect to any student appointed by the director 
of an STRL under paragraph (3) to a temporary or term 
appointment, upon graduation from the applicable institution 
of higher education (as defined in such paragraph), the director 
may noncompetitively convert such student to a permanent 
appointment within the STRL without regard to the provisions 
of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code 
(other than sections 3303 and 3328 of such title), provided 
the student meets all eligibility and Office of Personnel Manage-
ment qualification requirements for the position.’’; 
(2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘3 percent’’ and inserting 
‘‘6 percent’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ‘‘1 percent’’ and inserting 
‘‘3 percent’’; and 
(4) in subsection (f)(2), by striking ‘‘1 percent’’ and inserting 
‘‘2 percent’’. 
SEC. 1105. REQUIRED PROBATIONARY PERIOD FOR NEW EMPLOYEES 
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. 
(a) REQUIRED PROBATIONARY PERIOD.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 81 of title 10, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘§ 1599e. Probationary period for employees 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sections 3321 and 3393(d) 
of title 5, the appointment of a covered employee shall become 
final only after such employee has served a probationary period 
of two years. The Secretary concerned may extend a probationary 
period under this subsection at the discretion of such Secretary. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘covered employee’ means any individual— 
‘‘(A) appointed to a permanent position within the 
competitive service at the Department of Defense; or 
‘‘(B) appointed as a career appointee (as that term 
is defined in section 3132(a)(4) of title 5) within the Senior 
Executive Service at the Department. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘Secretary concerned’ includes the Secretary 
of Defense with respect to employees of the Department of 
Defense who are not employees of a military department. 
‘‘(c) EMPLOYMENT BECOMES FINAL.—Upon the expiration of a 
covered employee’s probationary period under subsection (a), the 
supervisor of the employee shall determine whether the appoint-
ment becomes final based on regulations prescribed for such purpose 
by the Secretary of Defense. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION OF CHAPTER 75 OF TITLE 5 FOR EMPLOYEES 
IN
THE COMPETITIVE SERVICE.—With respect to any individual 
described in subsection (b)(1)(A) and to whom this section applies, 
section 7501(1) and section 7511(a)(1)(A)(ii) of title 5 shall be applied
H. R. 1735—299 
to such individual by substituting ‘completed 2 years’ for ‘completed 
1 year’ in each instance it appears.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the 
beginning of chapter 81 of such title is amended by adding 
at the end the following new item: 
‘‘1599e. Probationary period for employees.’’. 
(b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to any covered employee (as that term is defined in section 
1599e of title 10, United States Code, as added by such subsection) 
appointed after the date of the enactment of this section. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title 5, United States Code, 
is amended— 
(1) in section 3321(c), by inserting at the end before the 
period the following: ‘‘, or any individual covered by section 
1599e of title 10’’; 
(2) in section 3393(d), by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘The preceding sentence shall not apply to any individual cov-
ered by section 1599e of title 10.’’; 
(3) in section 7501(1), by striking ‘‘or who’’ and inserting 
‘‘or, except as provided in section 1599e of title 10, who’’; 
(4) in section 7511(a)(1)(A)(ii), by inserting ‘‘except as pro-
vided in section 1599e of title 10,’’ before ‘‘who’’; and 
(5) in section 7541(1)(A), by inserting ‘‘or section 1599e 
of title 10’’ after ‘‘this title’’. 
SEC. 1106. DELAY OF PERIODIC STEP INCREASE FOR CIVILIAN 
EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BASED 
UPON UNACCEPTABLE PERFORMANCE. 
(a) DELAY.—Under procedures established by the Secretary of 
Defense, upon a determination by the Secretary that the work 
of an employee is not at an acceptable level of competence, the 
period of time during which the work of the employee is not at 
an acceptable level of competence shall not count toward completion 
of the period of service required for purposes of subsection (a) 
of section 5335 of title 5, United States Code, or subsection (e)(1) 
or (e)(2) of section 5343 of such title. 
(b) APPLICABILITY TO PERIODS OF SERVICE.—Subsection (a) shall 
not apply with respect to any period of service performed before 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 1107. UNITED STATES CYBER COMMAND WORKFORCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 81 of title 10, United States Code, 
as amended by section 1105, is further amended by adding at 
the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1599f. United States Cyber Command recruitment and 
retention 
‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—(1) The Secretary of Defense may— 
‘‘(A) establish, as positions in the excepted service, such 
qualified positions in the Department of Defense as the Sec-
retary determines necessary to carry out the responsibilities 
of the United States Cyber Command, including— 
‘‘(i) positions held by staff of the headquarters of the 
United States Cyber Command;
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‘‘(ii) positions held by elements of the United States 
Cyber Command enterprise relating to cyberspace oper-
ations, including elements assigned to the Joint Task Force- 
Department of Defense Information Networks; and 
‘‘(iii) positions held by elements of the military depart-
ments supporting the United States Cyber Command; 
‘‘(B) appoint an individual to a qualified position (after 
taking into consideration the availability of preference eligibles 
for appointment to the position); and 
‘‘(C) subject to the requirements of subsections (b) and 
(c), fix the compensation of an individual for service in a quali-
fied position. 
‘‘(2) The authority of the Secretary under this subsection applies 
without regard to the provisions of any other law relating to the 
appointment, number, classification, or compensation of employees. 
‘‘(b) BASIC PAY.—(1) In accordance with this section, the Sec-
retary shall fix the rates of basic pay for any qualified position 
established under subsection (a)— 
‘‘(A) in relation to the rates of pay provided for employees 
in comparable positions in the Department, in which the 
employee occupying the comparable position performs, man-
ages, or supervises functions that execute the cyber mission 
of the Department; and 
‘‘(B) subject to the same limitations on maximum rates 
of pay established for such employees by law or regulation. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary may— 
‘‘(A) consistent with section 5341 of title 5, adopt such 
provisions of that title to provide for prevailing rate systems 
of basic pay; and 
‘‘(B) apply those provisions to qualified positions for 
employees in or under which the Department may employ 
individuals described by section 5342(a)(2)(A) of such title. 
‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL
COMPENSATION, INCENTIVES, AND
ALLOW-
ANCES.—(1) The Secretary may provide employees in qualified posi-
tions compensation (in addition to basic pay), including benefits, 
incentives, and allowances, consistent with, and not in excess of 
the level authorized for, comparable positions authorized by title 
5. 
‘‘(2) An employee in a qualified position whose rate of basic 
pay is fixed under subsection (b)(1) shall be eligible for an allowance 
under section 5941 of title 5 on the same basis and to the same 
extent as if the employee was an employee covered by such section, 
including eligibility conditions, allowance rates, and all other terms 
and conditions in law or regulation. 
‘‘(d) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN REQUIRED.—The authority granted 
in subsection (a) shall become effective 30 days after the date 
on which the Secretary of Defense provides to the congressional 
defense committees a plan for implementation of such authority. 
The plan shall include the following: 
‘‘(1) An assessment of the current scope of the positions 
covered by the authority. 
‘‘(2) A plan for the use of the authority. 
‘‘(3) An assessment of the anticipated workforce needs of 
the United States Cyber Command across the future-years 
defense plan. 
‘‘(4) Other matters as appropriate.
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‘‘(e) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.—Nothing in sub-
section (a) may be construed to impair the continued effectiveness 
of a collective bargaining agreement with respect to an office, compo-
nent, subcomponent, or equivalent of the Department that is a 
successor to an office, component, subcomponent, or equivalent of 
the Department covered by the agreement before the succession. 
‘‘(f) REQUIRED REGULATIONS.—The Secretary, in coordination 
with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall 
prescribe regulations for the administration of this section. 
‘‘(g) ANNUAL REPORT.—(1) Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this section and not less frequently than 
once each year thereafter until the date that is five years after 
the date of the enactment of this section, the Director of the Office 
of Personnel Management, in coordination with the Secretary, shall 
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a detailed report 
on the administration of this section during the most recent one- 
year period. 
‘‘(2) Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include, 
for the period covered by the report, the following: 
‘‘(A) A discussion of the process used in accepting applica-
tions, assessing candidates, ensuring adherence to veterans’ 
preference, and selecting applicants for vacancies to be filled 
by an individual for a qualified position. 
‘‘(B) A description of the following: 
‘‘(i) How the Secretary plans to fulfill the critical need 
of the Department to recruit and retain employees in quali-
fied positions. 
‘‘(ii) The measures that will be used to measure 
progress. 
‘‘(iii) Any actions taken during the reporting period 
to fulfill such critical need. 
‘‘(C) A discussion of how the planning and actions taken 
under subparagraph (B) are integrated into the strategic 
workforce planning of the Department. 
‘‘(D) The metrics on actions occurring during the reporting 
period, including the following: 
‘‘(i) The number of employees in qualified positions 
hired, disaggregated by occupation, grade, and level or 
pay band. 
‘‘(ii) The placement of employees in qualified positions, 
disaggregated by military department, Defense Agency, or 
other component within the Department. 
‘‘(iii) The total number of veterans hired. 
‘‘(iv) The number of separations of employees in quali-
fied positions, disaggregated by occupation and grade and 
level or pay band. 
‘‘(v) The number of retirements of employees in quali-
fied positions, disaggregated by occupation, grade, and level 
or pay band. 
‘‘(vi) The number and amounts of recruitment, reloca-
tion, and retention incentives paid to employees in qualified 
positions, disaggregated by occupation, grade, and level 
or pay band. 
‘‘(E) A description of the training provided to supervisors 
of employees in qualified positions at the Department on the 
use of the new authorities.