rially delay ongoing completion of author-
izations within the office where the em-
ployee is located; and 
(ii) the Geothermal Ombudsman re-
ceives approval from the head of the offi-
cial duty station where the assigned em-
ployee is located. 
(B) 
ASSIGNED
PERSONNEL
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Department personnel assigned to as-
sist with completion of geothermal authoriza-
tions under subparagraph (A) shall— 
(i) work in-person full-time at an offi-
cial Department office; 
(ii) if necessary as determined by the 
Geothermal Ombudsman, travel to the Bu-
reau of Land Management field, district, 
or State office with jurisdiction over the 
geothermal authorization to which the em-
ployee has been assigned by the Geo-
thermal Ombudsman; 
(iii) participate as part of the team of 
personnel working on geothermal author-
izations to which the employee has been 
assigned by the Geothermal Ombudsman; 
and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:29 Oct 02, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5631.IH
H5631
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
(iv) regularly report to the head of the 
field, district, or State office of the Bureau 
of Land Management with jurisdiction over 
geothermal authorizations to which the em-
ployee has been assigned by the Geo-
thermal Ombudsman. 
(C) RETENTION ALLOWANCES.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to the 
availability of appropriations, the Geo-
thermal Ombudsman may pay a retention 
allowance to an employee assigned to assist 
with the completion of geothermal author-
izations under subparagraph (A). Reten-
tion allowances— 
(I) shall be stated as the percent-
age of the rate of basic pay of an em-
ployee, and may not exceed 25 percent 
of such rate of basic pay; 
(II) may not be considered to be 
part of the basic pay of an employee, 
and the reduction or elimination of a 
retention allowance may not be ap-
pealed; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:29 Oct 02, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5631.IH
H5631
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
(III) shall be paid at the same 
time and in the same manner as the 
employee’s basic pay is paid. 
(ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In exercising 
the retention allowance authority described 
in clause (i), the Geothermal Ombudsman 
shall consider— 
(I) an employee’s specialized ex-
pertise related to geothermal author-
izations; 
(II) the demonstrated need to re-
tain an employee to meet the perform-
ance improvement objectives for geo-
thermal authorization timelines and 
develop best practices for completion 
of geothermal authorizations; and 
(III) the difficulty in recruiting 
or replacing qualified personnel with 
relevant expertise related to geo-
thermal authorizations. 
(D) SAVINGS
CLAUSE.—Cross-office per-
sonnel assignments carried out under this para-
graph shall not alter the underlying jurisdiction 
of other offices of the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment over applicable geothermal authorizations. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:29 Oct 02, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5631.IH
H5631
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
(d) REPORT.—The Geothermal Ombudsman shall 
submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re-
sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re-
sources of the House of Representatives an annual report 
that describes the activities of the Task Force and evalu-
ates the effectiveness of geothermal permit processing dur-
ing the preceding 1-year period. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:29 Oct 02, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H5631.IH
H5631
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB