[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7198 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7198
To establish a scholarship program to diversify the national security
workforce through partnership with Historically Black Colleges and
Universities and other minority institutions, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 15, 2020
Mr. Brown of Maryland (for himself and Mr. Turner) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a scholarship program to diversify the national security
workforce through partnership with Historically Black Colleges and
Universities and other minority institutions, 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 ``Pathway for Inclusive Participation
of Emerging Leaders and Institutions in the NatSec Enterprise Act of
2020'' or the ``PIPELINE Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the
Director of the Office of Personnel Management, the Secretary of State,
and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall establish a Federal
scholarship-for-service program known as the ``Ronald V. Dellums
Federal National Security Pipeline Program'' to recruit, train, and
diversify the next generation of national security professionals to
meet the needs of the national security mission for Federal, State,
local, and Tribal governments.
(b) Program Description and Components.--The program under
subsection (a) shall--
(1) provide scholarships to students who are enrolled in
programs of study at covered institutions leading to degrees or
specialized program certifications relating to national
security;
(2) provide the scholarship recipients with summer
internship opportunities or other meaningful temporary
appointments in the Federal national security workforce; and
(3) prioritize the employment placement of scholarship
recipients in the Federal Government.
(c) Scholarship Amounts.--Each scholarship under subsection (b)
shall be in an amount that covers the student's tuition and fees at the
institution under subsection (b)(1) for not more than three years and
provides the student with an additional stipend.
(d) Post-Award Employment Obligations.--
(1) Civilian employment.--Each scholarship recipient, as a
condition of receiving a scholarship under the program, shall
enter into an agreement under which the recipient agrees to
work in a position related to national security at a Federal,
State, local, or Tribal agency for a period equal to the length
of the scholarship following receipt of the student's degree.
(2) Military service.--Pursuant to regulations prescribed
by the Secretary of Defense for such purpose, a scholarship
recipient may fulfill the condition described in paragraph (1)
by serving in the Armed Forces.
(e) Hiring Authority.--
(1) Appointment in excepted service.--Notwithstanding any
provision of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code,
governing appointments in the competitive service, an agency
shall appoint in the excepted service an individual who has
completed the eligible degree program for which a scholarship
was awarded.
(2) Noncompetitive conversion.--Except as provided in
paragraph (4), upon fulfillment of the service term, an
employee appointed under paragraph (1) may be converted
noncompetitively to term, career-conditional, or career
appointment.
(3) Timing of conversion.--An agency may noncompetitively
convert a term employee appointed under paragraph (2) to a
career-conditional or career appointment before the term
appointment expires.
(4) Authority to decline conversion.--An agency may decline
to make the noncompetitive conversion or appointment under
paragraph (2) for cause.
(f) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a scholarship under
this section, an individual shall--
(1) be a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United
States;
(2) demonstrate a commitment to a career in national
security;
(3) have demonstrated a high level of proficiency in a
field related to national security;
(4) be a full-time student in an eligible degree program at
a covered institution; and
(5) accept the terms of a scholarship under this section.
(g) Conditions of Support.--
(1) In general.--As a condition of receiving a scholarship
under this section, a scholarship recipient shall agree to
provide the qualified institution of higher education with
annual verifiable documentation of post-award employment and
up-to-date contact information.
(2) Terms.--A scholarship recipient under this section
shall be liable to the United States as provided in subsection
(i) if the individual--
(A) fails to maintain an acceptable level of
academic standing at the applicable covered
institution, as determined by the Secretary of Defense;
(B) is dismissed from the applicable covered
institution for disciplinary reasons;
(C) withdraws from the eligible degree program
before completing the program;
(D) declares that the individual does not intend to
fulfill the post-award employment obligation under this
section; or
(E) fails to fulfill the post-award employment
obligation of the individual under this section.
(h) Monitoring Compliance.--As a condition of participating in the
program, a covered institution shall--
(1) enter into an agreement with the Secretary of Defense,
to monitor the compliance of scholarship recipients with
respect to their post-award employment obligations; and
(2) provide to the Secretary of Defense, on an annual
basis, the post-award employment documentation required under
subsection (g)(1) for scholarship recipients through the
completion of their post-award employment obligations.
(i) Amount of Repayment.--
(1) Less than one year of service.--If a circumstance
described in subsection (g)(2) occurs before the completion of
one year of a post-award employment obligation under this
section, the total amount of scholarship awards received by the
individual under this section shall--
(A) be repaid; or
(B) be treated as a loan to be repaid in accordance
with subsection (j).
(2) One or more years of service.--If a circumstance
described in subparagraph (D) or (E) of subsection (g)(2)
occurs after the completion of one or more years of a post-
award employment obligation under this section, the total
amount of scholarship awards received by the individual under
this section, reduced by the ratio of the number of years of
service completed divided by the number of years of service
required, shall--
(A) be repaid; or
(B) be treated as a loan to be repaid in accordance
with subsection (j).
(j) Repayments.--A loan described in subsection (i) shall--
(1) be treated as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford
Loan under part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.); and
(2) be subject to repayment, together with interest thereon
accruing from the date of the scholarship award, in accordance
with terms and conditions specified by the Secretary of Defense
(in consultation with the Secretary of Education, Secretary of
State, and Secretary of Homeland Security) in regulations
promulgated to carry out this subsection.
(k) Collection of Repayment.--
(1) In general.--In the event that a scholarship recipient
is required to repay the scholarship award under this section,
the covered institution providing the scholarship shall--
(A) determine the repayment amounts and notify the
recipient and the Secretary of Defense of the amounts
owed; and
(B) collect the repayment amounts within a period
of time as determined by the Secretary of Defense, or
the repayment amounts shall be treated as a loan in
accordance with subsection (j).
(2) Returned to treasury.--Except as provided in paragraph
(3), any repayment under this subsection shall be returned to
the Treasury of the United States.
(3) Retain percentage.--A covered institution may retain a
percentage of any repayment the institution collects under this
subsection to defray administrative costs associated with the
collection. The Secretary of Defense shall establish a single,
fixed percentage that will apply to all eligible entities.
(l) Exceptions.--The Secretary of Defense may provide for the
partial or total waiver or suspension of any service or payment
obligation by an individual under this section whenever compliance by
the individual with the obligation is impossible or would involve
extreme hardship to the individual, or if enforcement of such
obligation with respect to the individual would be unconscionable.
(m) Evaluation and Report.--The Secretary of Defense shall evaluate
and report periodically to Congress on the success of recruiting
individuals for scholarships under this section and on hiring and
retaining those individuals in the public sector workforce.
(n) Covered Institution Defined.--In this section, the term
``covered institution'' has the meaning given that term in section
262(g)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2020 (Public Law 116-92).
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