I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6738 
To provide for the appointment of fellows in the John S. McCain Strategic 
Defense Fellows Program to term excepted service positions, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 13, 2023 
Mr. BACON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To provide for the appointment of fellows in the John S. 
McCain Strategic Defense Fellows Program to term ex-
cepted service positions, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strategic Defense Fel-
lows Program Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE JOHN S. MCCAIN STRATEGIC 
DEFENSE FELLOWS PROGRAM. 
(a) 
SELECTION
OF
PARTICIPANTS.—Subsection 
(d)(2) of section 932 of the John S. McCain National De-
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fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (Public Law 115– 
232; 10 U.S.C. 1580 note prec.) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHICAL
REPRESENTATION.—Out 
of the total number of individuals selected to partici-
pate in the fellows program, which shall not exceed 
60 individuals in any year, no more than 20 percent 
may be from any of the following geographic regions: 
‘‘(A) The Northeast United States. 
‘‘(B) The Southeast United States. 
‘‘(C) The Midwest United States. 
‘‘(D) The Southwest United States. 
‘‘(E) The Western United States. 
‘‘(F) Alaska, Hawaii, United States terri-
tories, and areas outside the United States.’’. 
(b) APPOINTMENT AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT.— 
Such section is further amended— 
(1) in subsection (d)(3)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘assigned’’ and inserting 
‘‘appointed’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘assignment’’ and inserting 
‘‘appointment’’; and 
(2) by amending subsections (e) and (f) to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(e) APPOINTMENT.— 
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option to extend the appointment up to one addi-
tional year. 
‘‘(5) GRADE.—An individual appointed to a po-
sition under the fellows program shall be appointed 
at a level between GS–10 and GS–12 of the General 
Schedule based on the directly related qualifications, 
skills, and professional experience of the individual. 
‘‘(6) EDUCATION LOAN REPAYMENT.—To the 
extent that funds are provided in advance in appro-
priations Acts, the Secretary of Defense may repay 
a loan of a participant in the fellows program if the 
loan is described by subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) 
of section 16301(a)(1) of title 10, United States 
Code. Any repayment of a loan under this paragraph 
may require a minimum service agreement, as deter-
mined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(7) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE COMPONENT 
DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘Depart-
ment of Defense Component’ means a Department 
of Defense Component, as set forth in section 111 
of title 10, United States Code. 
‘‘(f) CAREER DEVELOPMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense 
shall ensure that participants in the fellows pro-
gram— 
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‘‘(A) receive career development opportuni-
ties and support appropriate for the commence-
ment of a career track within the Department 
leading toward a future position of senior lead-
ership within the Department, including ongo-
ing mentorship support through appropriate 
personnel from entities within the Department; 
and 
‘‘(B) are provided appropriate employment 
opportunities for competitive and excepted serv-
ice positions in the Department upon successful 
completion of the fellows program. 
‘‘(2) PUBLICATION OF SELECTION.—The Sec-
retary shall publish, on an internet website of the 
Department available to the public, the names of the 
individuals selected to participate in the fellows pro-
gram.’’. 
Æ 
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