[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 12, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S3402]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 311. Mr. CARDIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 1790, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2020 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of title XI, add the following:

     SEC. 1106. REPORTS ON USE OF DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITIES BY THE 
                   DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

       Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary of Defense (with respect to the 
     Department of Defense) and each Secretary of a military 
     department (with respect to such military department) shall 
     submit to the congressional defense committees a report on 
     the use by the department concerned of direct hiring 
     authority (DHA) for civilian employees of such department. 
     Each report shall set forth the following:
       (1) Citations to each of the direct hiring authorities 
     currently available to the department concerned.
       (2) The current number of civilian employees of the 
     department concerned who were hired using direct hiring 
     authority (whether or not such authority is currently in 
     force), and the grade level and occupational series of such 
     civilian employees.
       (3) A description and assessment of the challenges, if any, 
     faced by the department concerned in hiring civilian 
     employees for critical positions and occupational series, and 
     a description and assessment of the role of current or 
     potential direct hiring authorities in addressing such 
     challenges.
       (4) A proposal for increasing the number of civilian 
     employees of the department concerned who are employed using 
     direct hiring authority.
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