[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 903 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 903
To require the Secretary of the Army to carry out a pilot project to
establish a Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 21, 2023
Ms. Rosen (for herself and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Army to carry out a pilot project to
establish a Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve, 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 ``Department of Defense Civilian
Cybersecurity Reserve Act''.
SEC. 2. CIVILIAN CYBERSECURITY RESERVE PILOT PROJECT.
(a) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House
of Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Competitive service.--The term ``competitive service''
has the meaning given the term in section 2102 of title 5,
United States Code.
(3) Excepted service.--The term ``excepted service'' has
the meaning given the term in section 2103 of title 5, United
States Code.
(4) Temporary position.--The term ``temporary position''
means a position in the competitive or excepted service for a
period of 180 days or less.
(b) Pilot Project.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Army shall carry out
a pilot project to establish a Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve.
(2) Purpose.--The purpose of the Civilian Cybersecurity
Reserve is to enable the Army to provide manpower to the United
States Cyber Command to effectively--
(A) preempt, defeat, deter, or respond to malicious
cyber activity;
(B) conduct cyberspace operations;
(C) secure information and systems of the
Department of Defense against malicious cyber activity;
and
(D) assist in solving cyber workforce-related
challenges.
(3) Alternative methods.--Consistent with section 4703 of
title 5, United States Code, in carrying out the pilot project
required under paragraph (1), the Secretary may, without
further authorization from the Office of Personnel Management,
provide for alternative methods of--
(A) establishing qualifications requirements for,
recruitment of, and appointment to positions; and
(B) classifying positions.
(4) Appointments.--Under the pilot project required under
paragraph (1), in order to fulfill the purpose under paragraph
(2), the Secretary--
(A) may activate members of the Civilian
Cybersecurity Reserve by--
(i) noncompetitively appointing members of
the Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve to temporary
positions in the competitive service; or
(ii) appointing members of the Civilian
Cybersecurity Reserve to temporary positions in
the excepted service;
(B) shall notify Congress whenever a member is
activated under subparagraph (A); and
(C) may appoint not more than 50 members to the
Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve under subparagraph (A)
at any time.
(5) Status as employees.--An individual appointed under
paragraph (4) shall be considered a Federal civil service
employee under section 2105 of title 5, United States Code.
(6) Additional employees.--Individuals appointed under
paragraph (4) shall be in addition to any employees of the
United States Cyber Command who provide cybersecurity services.
(7) Employment protections.--The Secretary of Labor shall
prescribe such regulations as necessary to ensure the
reemployment, continuation of benefits, and non-discrimination
in reemployment of individuals appointed under paragraph (4),
provided that such regulations shall include, at a minimum,
those rights and obligations set forth under chapter 43 of
title 38, United States Code.
(8) Status in reserve.--During the period beginning on the
date on which an individual is recruited to serve in the
Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve and ending on the date on which
the individual is appointed under paragraph (4), and during any
period in between any such appointments, the individual shall
not be considered a Federal employee.
(c) Eligibility; Application and Selection.--
(1) In general.--Under the pilot project required under
subsection (b)(1), the Secretary of the Army shall establish
criteria for--
(A) individuals to be eligible for the Civilian
Cybersecurity Reserve; and
(B) the application and selection processes for the
Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve.
(2) Requirements for individuals.--The criteria established
under paragraph (1)(A) with respect to an individual shall
include--
(A) if the individual has previously served as a
member of the Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve, that the
previous appointment ended not less than 60 days before
the individual may be appointed for a subsequent
temporary position in the Civilian Cybersecurity
Reserve; and
(B) cybersecurity expertise.
(3) Prescreening.--The Secretary shall--
(A) conduct a prescreening of each individual prior
to appointment under subsection (b)(4) for any topic or
product that would create a conflict of interest; and
(B) require each individual appointed under
subsection (b)(4) to notify the Secretary if a
potential conflict of interest arises during the
appointment.
(4) Agreement required.--An individual may become a member
of the Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve only if the individual
enters into an agreement with the Secretary to become such a
member, which shall set forth the rights and obligations of the
individual and the Army.
(5) Exception for continuing military service
commitments.--A member of the Selected Reserve under section
10143 of title 10, United States Code, may not be a member of
the Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve.
(6) Prohibition.--Any individual who is an employee of the
executive branch may not be recruited or appointed to serve in
the Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve.
(d) Security Clearances.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Army shall ensure
that all members of the Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve undergo
the appropriate personnel vetting and adjudication commensurate
with the duties of the position, including a determination of
eligibility for access to classified information where a
security clearance is necessary, according to applicable policy
and authorities.
(2) Cost of sponsoring clearances.--If a member of the
Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve requires a security clearance in
order to carry out the duties of the member, the Army shall be
responsible for the cost of sponsoring the security clearance
of the member.
(e) Implementation Plan.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date on
which the Secretary of Defense submits to the Committee on
Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed
Services of the House of Representatives the report required
under section 1540(d)(2) of the James M. Inhofe National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117-
263) on the feasibility and advisability of creating and
maintaining a civilian cybersecurity reserve corps, the
Secretary of the Army shall--
(A) submit to the appropriate congressional
committees an implementation plan for the pilot project
required under subsection (b)(1); and
(B) provide to the appropriate congressional
committees a briefing on the implementation plan.
(2) Prohibition.--The Secretary of the Army may not take
any action to begin implementation of the pilot project
required under subsection (b)(1) until the Secretary fulfills
the requirements under paragraph (1).
(f) Project Guidance.--Not later than two years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall, in
consultation with the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of
Government Ethics, issue guidance establishing and implementing the
pilot project required under subsection (b)(1).
(g) Briefings and Report.--
(1) Briefings.--Not later than one year after the date on
which the guidance required under subsection (f) is issued, and
every year thereafter until the date on which the pilot project
required under subsection (b)(1) terminates under subsection
(i), the Secretary of the Army shall provide to the appropriate
congressional committees a briefing on activities carried out
under the pilot project, including--
(A) participation in the Civilian Cybersecurity
Reserve, including the number of participants, the
diversity of participants, and any barriers to
recruitment or retention of members;
(B) an evaluation of the ethical requirements of
the pilot project;
(C) whether the Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve has
been effective in providing additional capacity to the
Army; and
(D) an evaluation of the eligibility requirements
for the pilot project.
(2) Report.--Not earlier than 180 days and not later than
90 days before the date on which the pilot project required
under subsection (b)(1) terminates under subsection (i), the
Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report and provide a briefing on recommendations
relating to the pilot project, including recommendations for--
(A) whether the pilot project should be modified,
extended in duration, or established as a permanent
program, and if so, an appropriate scope for the
program;
(B) how to attract participants, ensure a diversity
of participants, and address any barriers to
recruitment or retention of members of the Civilian
Cybersecurity Reserve;
(C) the ethical requirements of the pilot project
and the effectiveness of mitigation efforts to address
any conflict of interest concerns; and
(D) an evaluation of the eligibility requirements
for the pilot project.
(h) Evaluation.--Not later than three years after the pilot project
required under subsection (b)(1) is established, the Comptroller
General of the United States shall--
(1) conduct a study evaluating the pilot project; and
(2) submit to Congress--
(A) a report on the results of the study; and
(B) a recommendation with respect to whether the
pilot project should be modified.
(i) Sunset.--The pilot project required under subsection (b)(1)
shall terminate on the date that is four years after the date on which
the pilot project is established.
(j) No Additional Funds.--
(1) In general.--No additional funds are authorized to be
appropriated for the purpose of carrying out this Act.
(2) Existing authorized amounts.--Funds to carry out this
Act may, as provided in advance in appropriations Acts, only
come from amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Army.
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