Veteran Recruitment Act
Bill: H.R.8705 | Sponsor: Rep. Herrell, Yvette (R-NM)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Veteran Recruitment Act
This bill requires the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for Global Media to develop and implement plans to ensure that veterans receive priority hiring recruitment.  The bill also requires the State Department to align Foreign Service positions with military ranks and to expand outreach efforts in recruiting veterans for the Foreign Service.

To strengthen United States leadership through the recruitment and 
 hiring of veterans of the United States Armed Forces to civil service 
                   positions, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veteran Recruitment Act''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCEMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF STATE RECRUITMENT AND HIRING OF 
              VETERANS.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of State shall, after consultation with the 
Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs, submit a report to the 
President providing a detailed and comprehensive plan for prioritizing 
the recruitment and hiring of veterans into covered positions. Such 
plan shall, subject to presidential modification and to be fully 
implemented not later than one year after the date the plan is 
submitted to the President, accomplish the following:
            (1) Ensure that veterans receive priority recruitment and 
        retention for covered positions, including through 
        implementation of military rank equivalency for at least mid-
        level ranks within the Foreign Service.
            (2) Identify and eliminate explicit and implicit barriers 
        in the Department's recruitment and hiring practices that, 
        intentionally or otherwise, prevent veterans from the obtaining 
        covered positions, including barriers in existing digital and 
        non-digital recruitment materials.
            (3) Identify and adjust Foreign Service training and 
        management standards to align with those of other Federal 
        defense, intelligence, and security agencies, including 
        implementation of rigorous and selective training courses for 
        newly hired recruits.
            (4) Identify and initiate specific steps that the 
        Department will take to ensure that physically disabled 
        veterans have equal access to covered positions.
    (b) Hiring.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of State shall initiate and complete the 
following steps to prioritize the hiring of veterans to covered 
positions:
            (1) Expand nationwide access to the Foreign Service oral 
        assessment job interview, including through proctored video-
        conferencing from military facilities.
            (2) Direct the Director General of the Foreign Service to 
        expand outreach and recruitment jurisdiction and efforts to 
        United States Armed Forces bases and other facilities in the 
        vicinities of their respective colleges and universities of 
        residence, including through the use of Diplomats in Residence.
            (3) Direct the Department of State's Under Secretaries and 
        Assistant Secretaries to coordinate with relevant Department of 
        Defense leadership and personnel to develop outreach and 
        recruitment programs, which would be tailored to duty stations, 
        that would communicate with active-duty United States Armed 
        Forces personnel who are in the process of honorably separating 
        from military service about covered positions.
            (4) Expand eligibility of the existing Veterans Innovation 
        Partnership Fellowship in order to boost access of veterans to 
        such Fellowship, including by, at a minimum, eliminating the 
        master's degree threshold requirement for access to the 
        fellowship.
            (5) Establish at least one new academic fellowship for 
        veterans, to be modeled on the Department of State's Rangel and 
        Pickering Fellowships, not later than October 1, 2022.

SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA'S RECRUITMENT AND 
              HIRING OF VETERANS.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media shall, 
after consultation with the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans 
Affairs, submit a report to the President providing a detailed and 
comprehensive plan for prioritizing the Agency's recruitment and hiring 
efforts of veterans into positions at the Agency, including leadership, 
management, policy, and broadcasting positions. Such plan shall, 
subject to presidential modification and to be fully implemented not 
later than one year after the date the plan is submitted to the 
President, accomplish the following:
            (1) Ensure that veterans receive priority recruitment for 
        Agency positions, including leadership, management, policy, and 
        broadcasting positions.
            (2) Evaluate explicit and implicit barriers in Agency 
        recruitment and hiring practices that, intentionally or 
        otherwise, prevent veterans from obtaining positions with in 
        the Agency, including barriers in existing digital and non-
        digital recruitment materials.
            (3) Identify specific steps that the Agency will take to 
        ensure that physically disable veterans have equal access to 
        Agency positions.
            (4) Recommend redeployment or realignment of discretionary 
        Agency monetary and personal resources to support all of the 
        above efforts.

SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ESTABLISHMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 
              SEPARATION MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING WITH FEDERAL 
              AGENCIES.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Defense shall--
            (1) in any circumstance where the Department of Defense has 
        an memorandum of understanding to assist active-duty United 
        States Armed Forces personnel who are in the process of 
        honorably separating from military service (in this section 
        defined as a ``separation MOU'') with a Federal agency, 
        reassess and, where necessary, recommend modifications to the 
        separation MOU to enhance recruitment efforts of such personnel 
        by that agency; and
            (2) in any circumstance where the Department does not have 
        an existing separation MOU with a Federal agency, at a minimum 
        initiate a separation MOU to enhance recruitment efforts of 
        such personnel by that agency.

SEC. 5. OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT ELIMINATION OF VETERANS 
              PREFERENCE WAIVERS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and until the date 
guidance is issued under subsection (b), the Director of the Office of 
Personnel Management may not grant any veteran preference waiver under 
section 3312 of title 5, United States Code.
    (b) Guidance.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director shall issue new guidance providing 
updated criteria for the Office's granting of Federal agency, board, or 
commission veteran preference waiver requests.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``civil service'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 2101 of title 5, United States Code;
            (2) the term ``covered positions'' means civil service 
        positions within the Department of State, including Foreign 
        Service positions and leadership, management, and policy 
        positions; and
            (3) the term ``veteran'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
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