[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3925 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3925

To establish an exchange program between the Federal Government and the 
  private sector in order to promote the development of expertise in 
       information technology management, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 12, 2002

   Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia (for himself and Mr. Burton of Indiana) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish an exchange program between the Federal Government and the 
  private sector in order to promote the development of expertise in 
       information technology management, 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; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Digital Tech Corps 
Act of 2002''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) unless action is taken soon, there will be a crisis in 
        the government's ability to deliver essential services to the 
        American people;
            (2) by 2006, over 50 percent of the Federal Government's 
        information technology workforce will be eligible to retire, 
        creating a huge demand in the Federal Government for high-skill 
        workers;
            (3) despite a 44 percent decrease in the demand for 
        information technology workers in the private sector, the 
        Information Technology Association of America reported in 2001 
        that employers will need to fill over 900,000 new information 
        technology jobs and will be unable to find qualified workers 
        for 425,000 of those jobs;
            (4) to highlight the urgency of this situation, in January 
        2001, the General Accounting Office added the Federal 
        Government's human capital management to its list of high-risk 
        problems for which an effective solution must be found;
            (5) despite efforts to increase flexibility in Federal 
        agencies' employment practices, compensation issues continue to 
        severely restrain recruitment for Federal agencies; and
            (6) an effective, efficient, and economical response to 
        this crisis would be to create a vibrant, ongoing exchange 
        effort designed to share talent, expertise, and advances in 
        management between leading-edge businesses and Federal agencies 
        engaged in best practices.

SEC. 2. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXCHANGE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Subpart B of part III of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

         ``CHAPTER 37--INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXCHANGE PROGRAM

``Sec.
``3701. Definitions.
``3702. General provisions.
``3703. Assignment of employees to private sector organizations.
``3704. Assignment of employees from private sector organizations.
``3705. Application to Office of the Chief Technology Officer of the 
                            District of Columbia.
``3706. Authority of the Office of Personnel Management.
``Sec. 3701. Definitions
    ``For purposes of this chapter--
            ``(1) the term `agency' means an Executive agency, but does 
        not include the General Accounting Office; and
            ``(2) the term `detail' means--
                    ``(A) the assignment or loan of an employee of an 
                agency to a private sector organization without a 
                change of position from the agency that employs the 
                individual, or
                    ``(B) the assignment or loan of an employee of a 
                private sector organization to an agency without a 
                change of position from the private sector organization 
                that employs the individual,
        whichever is appropriate in the context in which such term is 
        used.
``Sec. 3702. General provisions
    ``(a) Assignment Authority.--On request from or with the agreement 
of a private sector organization, and with the consent of the employee 
concerned, the head of an agency may arrange for the assignment of an 
employee of the agency to a private sector organization or an employee 
of a private sector organization to the agency. An eligible employee is 
an individual who--
            ``(1) works in the field of information technology 
        management;
            ``(2) is considered an exceptional performer by the 
        individual's current employer; and
            ``(3) is expected to assume increased information 
        technology management responsibilities in the future.
An employee of an agency shall be eligible to participate in this 
program only if the employee is employed at the GS-11 level or above 
(or equivalent) and is serving under a career or career-conditional 
appointment or an appointment of equivalent tenure in the excepted 
service.
    ``(b) Agreements.--Each agency that exercises its authority under 
this chapter shall provide for a written agreement between the agency 
and the employee concerned regarding the terms and conditions of the 
employee's assignment. In the case of an employee of the agency, the 
agreement shall--
            ``(1) require the employee to serve in the civil service, 
        upon completion of the assignment, for a period equal to the 
        length of the assignment; and
            ``(2) provide that, in the event the employee fails to 
        carry out the agreement (except for good and sufficient reason, 
        as determined by the head of the agency from which assigned) 
        the employee shall be liable to the United States for payment 
        of all expenses (excluding salary) of the assignment.
An amount under paragraph (2) shall be treated as a debt due the United 
States.
    ``(c) Termination.--Assignments may be terminated by the agency or 
private sector organization concerned for any reason at any time.
    ``(d) Duration.--Assignments under this chapter shall be for 1 year 
and may be extended for an additional period not to exceed 1 year.
    ``(e) Assistance.--The Chief Information Officers Council, by 
agreement with the Office of Personnel Management, may assist in the 
administration of this chapter, including by maintaining lists of 
potential candidates for assignment under this chapter, establishing 
mentoring relationships for the benefit of individuals who are given 
assignments under this chapter, and publicizing the program.
``Sec. 3703. Assignment of employees to private sector organizations
    ``(a) In General.--An employee of an agency assigned to a private 
sector organization under this chapter is deemed, during the period of 
the assignment, to be on detail to a regular work assignment in his 
agency.
    ``(b) Coordination With Chapter 81.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, an employee of an agency assigned to a private sector 
organization under this chapter is entitled to retain coverage, rights, 
and benefits under subchapter I of chapter 81, and employment during 
the assignment is deemed employment by the United States, except that, 
if the employee or the employee's dependents receive from the private 
sector organization any payment under an insurance policy for which the 
premium is wholly paid by the private sector organization, or other 
benefit of any kind on account of the same injury or death, then, the 
amount of such payment or benefit shall be credited against any 
compensation otherwise payable under subchapter I of chapter 81.
    ``(c) Reimbursements.--The assignment of an employee to a private 
sector organization under this chapter may be made with or without 
reimbursement by the private sector organization for the travel and 
transportation expenses to or from the place of assignment, subject to 
the same terms and conditions as apply with respect to an employee of a 
Federal agency or a State or local government under section 3375, and 
for the pay, or a part thereof, of the employee during assignment. Any 
reimbursements shall be credited to the appropriation of the agency 
used for paying the travel and transportation expenses or pay.
    ``(d) Tort Liability; Supervision.--The Federal Tort Claims Act and 
any other Federal tort liability statute apply to an employee of an 
agency assigned to a private sector organization under this chapter. 
The supervision of the duties of an employee of an agency so assigned 
to a private sector organization may be governed by an agreement 
between the agency and the organization.
``Sec. 3704. Assignment of employees from private sector organizations
    ``(a) In General.--An employee of a private sector organization 
assigned to an agency under this chapter is deemed, during the period 
of the assignment, to be on detail to such agency.
    ``(b) Terms and Conditions.--An employee of a private sector 
organization assigned to an agency under this chapter--
            ``(1) may continue to receive pay and benefits from the 
        private sector organization from which he is assigned;
            ``(2) is deemed, notwithstanding subsection (a), to be an 
        employee of the agency for the purposes of--
                    ``(A) chapter 73, except for section 7353(a)(1);
                    ``(B) sections 203, 205, 207, 208, 603, 606, 607, 
                643, 654, 1905, and 1913 of title 18;
                    ``(C) sections 1343, 1344, and 1349(b) of title 31;
                    ``(D) the Federal Tort Claims Act and any other 
                Federal tort liability statute;
                    ``(E) the Ethics in Government Act of 1978;
                    ``(F) section 1043 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
                1986; and
                    ``(G) section 27(p)(8) of the Office of Federal 
                Procurement Policy Act; and
            ``(3) is subject to such regulations as the President may 
        prescribe.
The supervision of an employee of a private sector organization 
assigned to an agency under this chapter may be governed by agreement 
between the agency and the private sector organization concerned. Such 
an assignment may be made with or without reimbursement by the agency 
for the pay, or a part thereof, of the employee during the period of 
assignment, or for any contribution of the private sector organization 
to employee benefit systems.
    ``(c) Coordination With Chapter 81.--An employee of a private 
sector organization assigned to an agency under this chapter who 
suffers disability or dies as a result of personal injury sustained 
while performing duties during the assignment shall be treated, for the 
purpose of subchapter I of chapter 81, as an employee as defined by 
section 8101 who had sustained the injury in the performance of duty, 
except that, if the employee or the employee's dependents receive from 
the private sector organization any payment under an insurance policy 
for which the premium is wholly paid by the private sector 
organization, or other benefit of any kind on account of the same 
injury or death, then, the amount of such payment or benefit shall be 
credited against any compensation otherwise payable under subchapter I 
of chapter 81.
``Sec. 3705. Application to Office of the Chief Technology Officer of 
              the District of Columbia
    ``(a) In General.--The Chief Technology Officer of the District of 
Columbia may arrange for the assignment of an employee of the Office of 
the Chief Technology Officer to a private sector organization, or an 
employee of a private sector organization to such Office, in the same 
manner as the head of an agency under this chapter.
    ``(b) Terms and Conditions.--An assignment made pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall be subject to the same terms and conditions as an 
assignment made by the head of an agency under this chapter, except 
that in applying such terms and conditions to an assignment made 
pursuant to subsection (a), any reference in this chapter to a 
provision of law or regulation of the United States shall be deemed to 
be a reference to the applicable provision of law or regulation of the 
District of Columbia, including the applicable provisions of the 
District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 
1978 (sec. 1-601.01 et seq., D.C. Official Code) and section 601 of the 
District of Columbia Campaign Finance Reform and Conflict of Interest 
Act (sec. 1-1106.01, D.C. Official Code).
    ``(c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term `Office 
of the Chief Technology Officer' means the office established in the 
executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia under 
the Office of the Chief Technology Officer Establishment Act of 1998 
(sec. 1-1401 et seq., D.C. Official Code).
``Sec. 3706. Authority of the Office of Personnel Management
    ``The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall 
prescribe regulations for the administration of this chapter.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for part III of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
chapter 35 the following:

``37. Information Technology Exchange Program...............    3701''.

SEC. 3. ALLOWABILITY OF COSTS.

    Within 120 days after the enactment of this Act, the Federal 
Acquisition Regulatory Council shall amend the Federal Acquisition 
Regulation to recognize the costs associated with an employee's 
participation in the program authorized by section 2 as allowable 
training and education costs. Such costs--
            (1) include the employee's salary and fringe benefits for a 
        period not to exceed the period of the employee's assignment 
        under the program authorized by section 2, as well as moving 
        and travel expenses; and
            (2) may be treated, for accounting purposes--
                    (A) as an indirect cost and accounted for in--
                            (i) an established overhead account; or
                            (ii) an overhead account established 
                        specifically for the program authorized by 
                        section 2 and allocated exclusively to the 
                        contractor's Federal Government contracts; or
                    (B) as a direct cost chargeable to fixed price or 
                time and material contracts.

SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Amendments to Title 5, United States Code.--Title 5, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in section 3111 by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, the head of an 
agency may accept voluntary service for the United States under chapter 
37 of this title and regulations of the Office of Personnel 
Management.''; and
            (2) in section 4108 by striking subsection (d).
    (b) Other Amendments.--Section 125(c)(1) of Public Law 100-238 (5 
U.S.C. 8432 note) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (C) by striking ``and'' at the end and 
        inserting ``or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) an individual assigned from a Federal agency 
                to a private sector organization under chapter 37 of 
                title 5, United States Code; and''.
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