[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7490 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7490

   To require the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to 
establish a pilot program to identify and refer veterans for potential 
    employment with Federal land management agencies, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 29, 2024

  Mr. Crane (for himself, Mr. Levin, Mrs. Miller of Illinois, and Mr. 
    Gosar) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the 
 Committees on Natural Resources, and Agriculture, 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 require the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to 
establish a pilot program to identify and refer veterans for potential 
    employment with Federal land management agencies, 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 Veterans Act''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON IDENTIFICATION, APPOINTMENT, OR REFERRAL OF 
              VETERANS FOR POTENTIAL EMPLOYMENT WITH FEDERAL LAND 
              MANAGEMENT AGENCIES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the 
                Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
                Forestry of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
                of the Senate;
                    (D) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House 
                of Representatives;
                    (E) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (F) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
                of Representatives.
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Personnel Management.
            (3) Federal land management agency.--The term ``Federal 
        land management agency'' means--
                    (A) the Forest Service;
                    (B) the National Park Service;
                    (C) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;
                    (D) the Bureau of Land Management; or
                    (E) the Bureau of Reclamation.
            (4) Noncompetitive.--The term ``noncompetitive'', when used 
        with respect to an appointment, means an appointment made 
        without regard to subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United 
        States Code, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of that title.
            (5) Pilot program.--The term ``pilot program'' means the 
        pilot program established by the Director under subsection (b).
            (6) Recognized postsecondary credential.--The term 
        ``recognized postsecondary credential'' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 
        Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).
             (7) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
    (b) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director (in consultation with the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary 
of Agriculture) shall establish a pilot program to recruit veterans 
with relevant strengths and abilities and refer the veterans to 
supervisory or nonsupervisory positions in Federal land management 
agencies.
    (c) Publication of Information Application.--
            (1) Publication.--The Director shall publicize, and 
        disseminate information about, the pilot program on the website 
        of the Office of Personnel Management.
            (2) Application.--A veteran seeking to participate in the 
        pilot program shall submit to the Director an application in 
        such form, in such manner, and containing such information as 
        the Director may require.
    (d) Tests of Strengths and Abilities.--
            (1) Guidance.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Director (in consultation with the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of the Interior, 
        and the Secretary of Agriculture) shall issue guidance on the 
        development of individual tests to be administered for the 
        purposes of the pilot program to determine the strengths and 
        abilities of veterans for positions in the following career 
        fields at Federal land management agencies:
                    (A) Outdoor recreation management.
                    (B) Management of volunteers.
                    (C) Fire planning and fire analysis.
                    (D) Firefighting.
                    (E) Aviation.
                    (F) Forest engineering.
                    (G) Inventory monitoring of land under the 
                management of a Federal land management agency.
                    (H) Landscape restoration.
                    (I) Ecology.
                    (J) Sustainability of ecosystems.
                    (K) Archeology.
                    (L) Range management.
                    (M) Analysis of geospatial data.
                    (N) Biology.
                    (O) Geology.
                    (P) Land use.
                    (Q) Physical sciences.
                    (R) Civil Engineering.
                    (S) Hydrology.
                    (T) Land surveying.
                    (U) Water reclamation.
                    (V) Finance, budget, and administration.
            (2) Waiver.--For purposes of the pilot program, the 
        Director (in consultation with, as appropriate, the Secretary 
        of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior) may waive any 
        requirement for a recognized postsecondary credential for a 
        position in a career field described in paragraph (1), if the 
        Director determines that such a waiver is necessary.
            (3) Administration.--The head of a Federal land management 
        agency shall--
                    (A) administer a test developed described in 
                paragraph (1) to each veteran who applies for 
                participation in the pilot program;
                    (B) develop assessments to measure the relative 
                capacity and fitness of veterans described in 
                subparagraph (A) of this paragraph for positions in the 
                career fields described in paragraph (1); and
                    (C) refer each veteran described in subparagraph 
                (A) to the official employment website of the Federal 
                Government.
            (4) Management.--The Director (in consultation with the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs) shall develop a method to 
        oversee and manage the employment of veterans within Federal 
        land management agencies in positions in the career fields that 
        are covered by the pilot program.
    (e) Appointment and Referral.--The head of a Federal land 
management agency (in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs), with respect to a veteran who has taken a test administered 
under subsection (d)(3)(A)--
            (1) if the veteran has demonstrated through the test the 
        necessary strengths and abilities for a vacant supervisory or 
        nonsupervisory position in a career field covered by the pilot 
        program in the Federal land management agency, as determined by 
        the head of the Federal land management agency, may make a 
        noncompetitive career-conditional appointment of the veteran to 
        that vacant position; or
            (2) if the veteran has not demonstrated through the test 
        the necessary strengths and abilities for a vacant supervisory 
        or nonsupervisory position in a career field covered by the 
        pilot program in the Federal land management agency, as 
        determined by the head of the Federal land management agency--
                    (A) shall refer the veteran to a recruiter of that 
                Federal land management agency for participation in a 
                training program that the agency shall establish for 
                the purposes of this section, which shall provide the 
                veteran with the strengths and abilities for a position 
                in such a career field;
                    (B) shall, after the participation by the veteran 
                in a training program described in subparagraph (A), 
                re-administer that test, for the purpose of re-
                evaluation, to the veteran as frequently as the head of 
                the Federal land management agency determines 
                appropriate until the veteran demonstrates through the 
                test the necessary strengths and abilities; and
                    (C) may, if the veteran has demonstrated through 
                the test the necessary strengths and abilities, make a 
                noncompetitive career-conditional appointment of the 
                veteran to a position in such a career field.
    (f) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and annually thereafter until the termination of the pilot 
program, the Director (in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs and the heads of the Federal land management agencies) shall 
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the pilot 
program.
    (g) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on the date 
that is 5 years after the date on which the Director establishes the 
pilot program.
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