[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2605 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2605
To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve recruitment and
retention of the cyber workforce of the Department of Defense, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 31, 2025
Mr. Rounds introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve recruitment and
retention of the cyber workforce of the Department of Defense, 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. CYBER WORKFORCE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.
(a) In General.--Section 1599f of title 10, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1599f. Cyber workforce recruitment and retention
``(a) General Authority.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense may--
``(A) establish, as positions in the excepted
service, such qualified positions in the Department of
Defense as the Secretary considers necessary to carry
out the cyber mission of the Department and are not in
the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System,
including--
``(i) positions in the Defense Digital
Executive Service established under subsection
(c); and
``(ii) Defense Digital Senior Level
positions designated under subsection (d);
``(B) carry out a program of personnel management
authority provided in subsection (b) in order to
facilitate recruitment of eminent experts in cyber for
the Department; and
``(C) implement an interagency transfer agreement
between qualified positions in the excepted service
established under this section and positions in the
competitive service in the Department, including the
military departments.
``(2) Applicability.--Unless explicitly provided otherwise
by law, the authority of the Secretary under this section
applies without regard to any other provision of law relating
to the appointment, number, classification, or compensation of
employees that the Secretary determines is incompatible with
the approach to talent management under this section.
``(b) Personnel Management Authority.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may--
``(A) without regard to any provision of title 5
governing the appointment of employees in the civil
service, appoint individuals to qualified positions
established under subsection (a)(1); and
``(B) subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), fix the
compensation of employees appointed under subparagraph
(A).
``(2) Rates of basic pay.--The Secretary--
``(A) shall fix the rates of basic pay for
employees appointed under paragraph (1)(A)--
``(i) with the rates of pay provided for
employees in comparable positions in the
Federal Government; and
``(ii) subject to the same limitations on
maximum rates of pay established for such
employees by statute or regulation; and
``(B) may prescribe the rates of basic pay for
employees appointed under paragraph (1)(A) at rates not
in excess of a rate equal to 150 percent of the maximum
rate of basic pay authorized for positions at Level I
of the Executive Schedule under section 5312 of title
5.
``(3) Additional compensation.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (C), the
Secretary may, with respect to an employee appointed
under paragraph (1)(A), other than such an employee
receiving the maximum rate of basic pay prescribed
under paragraph (2)(B), provide the employee
compensation (in addition to basic pay), including
payments, benefits, sabbaticals, incentives, awards,
and allowances--
``(i) in accordance with relevant
provisions of other laws, including provisions
of title 5;
``(ii) consistent with, and not in excess
of the level authorized for, comparable
positions in the Federal Government; and
``(iii) to the extent compatible with the
approach to talent management under this
section.
``(B) Allowances.--An employee appointed under
paragraph (1)(A) shall be eligible for an allowance
under section 5941 of title 5, in addition to such
basic pay, on the same basis and at least to the same
extent as if the employee was an employee covered by
such section, including eligibility conditions,
allowance rates, and all other terms and conditions in
statute or regulation.
``(C) Maximum amount of additional compensation.--
No additional compensation may be provided to an
employee under this paragraph in any calendar year if,
or to the extent that, the employee's total annual
compensation in such calendar year will exceed the
maximum amount of total annual compensation payable at
the salary set in accordance with section 104 of title
3.
``(c) Defense Digital Executive Service.--The Secretary may
establish a Defense Digital Executive Service for positions established
under subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) that are comparable to Senior Executive
Service positions.
``(d) Defense Digital Senior Level Positions.--The Secretary may
designate as a Defense Digital Senior Level position any defense cyber
position that, as determined by the Secretary--
``(1) is classified above the grade of GG-15 of the
excepted service;
``(2) does not satisfy functional or program management
criteria for being designated as a position in the Defense
Digital Executive Service; and
``(3) has no more than minimal supervisory
responsibilities.
``(e) Two-Year Probationary Period.--The probationary period for
all employees hired under the authority provided by this section shall
be two years.
``(f) Incumbents of Existing Competitive Service Positions.--
``(1) In general.--An individual occupying a position on
the date of the enactment of this section that is selected to
be converted to a position in the excepted service under this
section shall have the right to refuse such conversion.
``(2) Position conversion.--After the date on which an
individual who refuses a conversion under paragraph (1) stops
serving in the position selected to be converted, the position
shall be converted to a position in the excepted service.
``(g) Implementation Plan; Effective Date of Authority.--
``(1) In general.--The authority provided by this section
shall become effective 30 days after the date on which the
Secretary submits to the congressional defense committees a
plan for the implementation of such authority.
``(2) Elements.--The plan described in paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
``(A) An assessment of the current scope of the
positions covered by the authority provided by
subsection (a).
``(B) A plan for the use of the authority.
``(C) An assessment of the anticipated workforce
needs for the cyber mission of the Department across
the future-years defense program.
``(D) Other matters as appropriate.
``(h) Collective Bargaining Agreements.--Nothing in subsection (a)
may be construed to impair the continued effectiveness of a collective
bargaining agreement with respect to an office, component,
subcomponent, or equivalent of the Department that is a successor to an
office, component, subcomponent, or equivalent of the Department
covered by the agreement before the succession.
``(i) Regulations Required.--The Secretary, in coordination with
the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall prescribe
regulations for the administration of this section.
``(j) Annual Report.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of this section and not less frequently than
once each year thereafter until the date that is five years
after the date of the enactment of this section, the Director
of the Office of Personnel Management, in coordination with the
Secretary, shall submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a detailed report on the administration of this
section during the most recent one-year period.
``(2) Elements.--Each report required by paragraph (1)
shall include, for the period covered by the report, the
following:
``(A) A discussion of the process used in accepting
applications, assessing candidates, ensuring adherence
to veterans' preference, and selecting applicants for
vacancies to be filled by an individual for a qualified
position.
``(B) A description of the following:
``(i) How the Secretary plans to fulfill
the critical need of the Department to recruit
and retain employees in qualified positions.
``(ii) The measures that will be used to
measure progress.
``(iii) Any actions taken during the
reporting period to fulfill such critical need.
``(C) A discussion of how the planning and actions
taken under subparagraph (B) are integrated into the
strategic workforce planning of the Department.
``(D) The metrics on actions occurring during the
reporting period, including the following:
``(i) The number of employees in qualified
positions hired, disaggregated by occupation
and grade and level or pay band.
``(ii) The placement of employees in
qualified positions, disaggregated by military
department, Defense Agency, or other component
within the Department.
``(iii) The total number of veterans hired.
``(iv) The number of separations of
employees in qualified positions, disaggregated
by occupation and grade and level or pay band.
``(v) The number of retirements of
employees in qualified positions, disaggregated
by occupation and grade and level or pay band.
``(vi) The number and amounts of
recruitment, relocation, and retention
incentives paid to employees in qualified
positions, disaggregated by occupation and
grade and level or pay band.
``(vii) The number of employees in
qualified positions who held an appointment
related to cybersecurity at a Federal agency
outside of the Department during the three-year
period prior to being appointed under this
section.
``(k) Comptroller General Assessment.--
``(1) Availability of annual report.--The Director of the
Office of Personnel Management shall make available to the
Comptroller General of the United States each report required
by subsection (j).
``(2) Assessment.--The Comptroller General shall--
``(A) assess any differences in recruitment and
retention for cyber positions experienced by Federal
agencies based on unique hiring and pay authorities for
cyber professionals, including with respect to Senior
Executive Service positions and Senior Level positions;
and
``(B) not later than five years after the date of
the enactment of this section, submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress the results of that
assessment.
``(l) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
`appropriate committees of Congress' means--
``(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate; and
``(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
``(2) Competitive service.--The term `competitive service'
has the meaning given that term in section 2102 of title 5.
``(3) Excepted service.--The term `excepted service' has
the meaning given that term in section 2103 of title 5.
``(4) Qualified position.--The term `qualified position'
means a position, designated by the Secretary for the purpose
of this section, in which the individual occupying such
position performs, manages, or supervises functions that
execute the cyber mission of the Department.
``(5) Senior executive service position.--The term `Senior
Executive Service position' has the meaning given that term in
section 3132(a) of title 5.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of
chapter 81 of such title is amended by striking the item relating to
section 1599f and inserting the following new item:
``1599f. Cyber workforce recruitment and retention.''.
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