Title: Hire To Secure our Nation Act of 2020
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Hire To Secure our Nation Act of 2020
This bill provides temporary direct-hire authority to the Department of Defense and the Department of State for positions that require expertise on Iran, China, or Russia, and for related linguist positions, in the competitive service. The bill also establishes a fellowship program in these agencies to recruit experienced professionals, particularly those with foreign language skills or cybersecurity expertise, for positions relating to national security.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4812 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4812

  To provide the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State with 
 temporary direct hire authority for certain positions, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             October 20 (legislative day, October 19), 2020

   Mr. Braun introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State with 
 temporary direct hire authority for certain 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 ``Hire To Secure our Nation Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN POSITIONS IN THE DEPARTMENT 
              OF DEFENSE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``covered position''--
            (1) means--
                    (A) a position requiring expertise with respect to 
                the Islamic Republic of Iran, the People's Republic of 
                China, or the Russian Federation; or
                    (B) a position as a linguist with respect to--
                            (i) Farsi (or another language that is the 
                        primary language spoken in a Middle Eastern 
                        country);
                            (ii) Mandarin, Cantonese, or another 
                        language that is primarily spoken in the 
                        People's Republic of China; or
                            (iii) Russian; and
            (2) does not include a position in the Foreign Service.
    (b) Authority.--
            (1) Department of defense.--The Secretary of Defense may 
        use the authority provided under section 9905 of title 5, 
        United States Code, to appoint qualified candidates to covered 
        positions in the competitive service in the Department of 
        Defense.
            (2) Department of state.--The Secretary of State may 
        appoint, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of 
        chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code (other than sections 
        3303 and 3328 of that title), qualified candidates to covered 
        positions in the competitive service in the Department of 
        State.
    (c) Citizenship Requirement.--A candidate appointed to a covered 
position under subsection (b) shall be a citizen of the United States.
    (d) Expiration; Extensions.--
            (1) Expiration.--Subject to paragraph (2) of this 
        subsection, the authority provided to the Secretary of Defense 
        and the Secretary of State under paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
        subsection (b), respectively, shall expire on the date that is 
        3 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
            (2) Extensions.--
                    (A) In general.--The authority provided to the 
                Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of State under 
                paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b), respectively, 
                shall be extended for an additional 3-year period that 
                begins on date on which that authority expires under 
                paragraph (1) of this subsection if, before that 
                expiration date, the applicable Secretary submits to 
                Congress a notification describing the ways in which 
                the Islamic Republic of Iran, the People's Republic of 
                China, and the Russian Federation continue to threaten 
                the national security of the United States.
                    (B) Additional extensions.--If the Secretary of 
                Defense or the Secretary of State has received an 
                extension under subparagraph (A), the authority of the 
                Secretary under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b), 
                as applicable, shall be extended for an additional 3-
                year period that begins on the date on which the 
                extension expires if, before the date on which the 
                extension expires, the Secretary submits to Congress 
                the notification required under subparagraph (A).
                    (C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this 
                paragraph may be construed to limit the number of 
                extensions of authority that the Secretary of Defense 
                or the Secretary of State may receive under this 
                paragraph.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL SECURITY AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFESSIONALS FELLOWSHIP 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Establishment.--There is established in the Department 
        of Defense and the Department of State the National Security 
        and Foreign Language Professionals Fellowship Program (referred 
        to in this section as the ``Program'').
            (2) Rotations.--Under the Program--
                    (A) the applicable agency that appoints an 
                individual to a position under the Program shall 
                provide the individual with--
                            (i) developmental or professional 
                        experiences relating to the national security 
                        of the United States; and
                            (ii) training for the position that relates 
                        to the national security of the United States; 
                        and
                    (B) the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 
                State (referred to collectively in this section as the 
                ``Secretaries'') shall seek to recruit experienced 
                practitioners and academics to apply for senior-level 
                positions within the applicable agency.
    (b) Eligibility.--
            (1) In general.--In order to apply for a position under the 
        Program, an individual--
                    (A) shall have--
                            (i) a professional or graduate degree in an 
                        area that is relevant to the national security 
                        of the United States; or
                            (ii) significant professional experience in 
                        a position or a subject area relating to the 
                        national security of the United States;
                    (B) may be a student in a graduate or professional 
                school if the individual expects to obtain the degree 
                described in paragraph (A)(i) not later than August 31 
                of the academic year in which the individual is 
                applying; and
                    (C) shall have not less than 10 years of 
                professional experience, which may include time spent 
                towards obtaining the degree described in subparagraph 
                (A)(i).
            (2) Preference.--In making appointments under the Program, 
        the applicable Secretary shall give preference to--
                    (A) individuals with language proficiency that the 
                Secretary of Defense determines is critical to the 
                national security of the United States; and
                    (B) cyber security professionals.
    (c) Announcement; Selection of Finalists.--The Director of the 
Office of Personnel Management shall--
            (1) announce the opportunity to apply for a position under 
        the Program;
            (2) select finalists for the Program; and
            (3) publish, and provide to the Secretaries, a list of the 
        finalists selected under paragraph (2) for consideration by the 
        Secretaries with respect to appointments under the Program.
    (d) Length of Appointment.--An appointment made under the Program 
shall be for a period that is not less than 2 years and not more than 4 
years.
    (e) Movement Between Agencies.--
            (1) In general.--At any time during an appointment of an 
        individual under the Program, the individual may move to the 
        other agency participating in the Program if--
                    (A) the individual separates from the original 
                agency; and
                    (B) the new employing agency appoints the 
                individual without a break in service.
            (2) Reimbursement.--If a move described in paragraph (1) 
        occurs during the 180-day period beginning on the date on which 
        an individual is appointed by the original employing agency, 
        the original employing agency may request reimbursement of \1/
        4\ of the placement fee with respect to the individual from the 
        new appointing agency.
    (f) Termination.--The head of the applicable agency may terminate 
an individual serving in an appointment under the Program--
            (1) for reasons relating to misconduct, poor performance, 
        or suitability; and
            (2) if the agency head submits to the Director of the 
        Office of Personnel Management written notification regarding 
        the termination.
    (g) Conversion to the Competitive Service.--
            (1) In general.--Not earlier than 2 years after the date on 
        which an individual is appointed under the Program, the 
        applicable agency may noncompetitively convert the individual, 
        without a break in service, to a position in the competitive 
        service.
            (2) Number of positions available.--The Chief Human Capital 
        Officers Council, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense 
        and the Secretary of State, shall determine the number of 
        individuals who may be converted under paragraph (1).
            (3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection may 
        be construed as granting any individual appointed under the 
        Program a right to a noncompetitive conversion to a position in 
        the competitive service.
    (h) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
to replace--
            (1) the Presidential Management Fellows Program established 
        under subpart D of part 362 of title 5, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, or any successor regulation; or
            (2) any provision of title 5, United States Code, regarding 
        appointive positions in the civil service.
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